A Tale of Swords, Souls, and Masks
by Crazymallets
Summary: Link has to venture to a world where magic is either rare or doesn't exist. Can he and his allies defeat Soul Edge in time. Multiple couples with Link. Rated T for minor violence. Reviews and Criticism welcome.
1. Prologue

Prologue: (Important information for this story)

**Hi readers! Thanks for reading this fan fiction. Just to let you know, I don't use the Link you'd expect from the video game. He is the Nintendo-owned character, but I make changes to his back-story and personality. In fact, none of the Links from the games exist in my stories. There are times when Link will refer to his past lives, but those aren't the past lives from the video games. **

**The Link I have designed is sort of an accumulation of several Links from many different games. I use most of the spells from Ocarina of time, Link to the Past, and Zelda II, Link Adventure. He also has several items from all of the different games and some that I've made up. **

**My version of Link was born into a family of powerful knights. He was born with the Triforce of courage marked on his left hand. Link's father was a commander who worked for the king, and his mother was an archer. When Link was only around five, Ganondorf and his minions appeared. They were able to manipulate the King to believe they were loyal servants, promising to save Hyrule from an oncoming threat. In the meantime, they were secretly searching for the Triforce fragments. The only person who didn't trust Ganondorf was the four-year-old Zelda. Even at her young age, she could see through a person's lies. Unfortunately, the only people who believed Zelda were Impa and Link's father. **

**One day, the King and Ganondorf left for a political meeting with the other races of Hyrule. Ganondorf used the outing to manipulate some of the troops and secretly cause a rebellion. Knowing the rebellion was a way for Ganondorf to collect the Triforce fragment, Link's parents took action. Link's father and Impa set out to protect the five-year-old Princess Zelda. Link's mother knew Link was no longer safe in Hyrule since she and her husband planned to fight Ganondorf. She brought Link to Kokiri Forest when he was five to live with his uncle, a hermit who secretly lived in the forest and a master swordsman. That was the last time Link ever saw his mother or father. **

**Link's uncle treated Link like the son he never had, and loved him dearly. However, Link was very depressed. He would run into the woods alone and cry because he missed his parents and though he loved this strange man he lived with, he wished they would come back for him. A girl named Saria found Link one day and comforted him, and the two became best friends. **

**Link's uncle trained him how to be a swordsman and how to use basic fire spells. Saria visited Link everyday, or Link would visit Saria. Link also met Epona in the woods, a wild but magical horse that could run faster than any other horse. Epona wouldn't let anyone touch her except for Saria and Link. Link and Saria played their ocarinas for her, so Epona let Link ride her. **

**At the age of ten, Link's uncle could sense that darkness was spreading over the land. He knew the boy was one of the holders of one of the pieces of the Triforce. He also knew Ganondorf also knew this fact. **

**Link's uncle took Link to continue training with his grandfather, Smith, claiming Link had surpassed him at swordsmanship. Link did as he was told. When Ganondorf's minions came to take Link from his uncle, the boy was already long gone. Ganondorf was furious, for he knew the boy had been at the Kokiri Forest. He fought Link's uncle to the death when he refused the hand Link over. **

**Link arrived safely in Castle Town, where he met his grandparents. Link's grandmother was a witch who specialized in making yummy soups that filled a person with energy and could heal any illness or injury. His grandfather was the King's best friend, ex-general, and current blacksmith. **

**Link discovered that he had a little sister and his parents had both been killed. His parents wanted to visit him in the forest and had planned to introduce him to his little sister, but they had been murdered by a large group of monsters before they had the chance. (Ganondorf's minions.) Luckily, Link's little sister, Aryll, survived.**

**One day, Link walked around town and met a simple towns girl (Zelda in disguise), who he played with. When the castle guards began to look for Link's new friend, he hid her at his grandparents. When he thought the coast was clear, he brought the girl out of hiding, only to be discovered by the King of Hyrule himself. **

**The King laughed when he heard the situation and took a liking to Link, for he remembered the boy when he was a baby, and he remembered the boy's parents. Zelda and Link became best friends, but Impa ordered that Link never be allowed in the castle. **

**Impa became the boy's main mentor because his grandfather was no longer strong enough and was too busy to take on an apprentice. Impa wanted Link to learn stealth, and the best way to do that was to make him sneak around the castle so he could visit his only friend. Impa also taught Link other basic Sheikah techniques such as how to use Deku Seeds.**

**One day, the King of Hyrule received the request to attend another political meeting, but never returned. Ganondorf soon took control of the castle. He ordered Zelda to be betrothed to him. Impa knew he would take Zelda's Triforce fragment, even if it meant death to the princess, and went to protect Zelda. Link and Impa fought through the castle and made it to a secret passage that only Zelda and Impa knew existed. The two went into hiding and asked Link to collect the Pendants of Wisdom, Power, and Courage so he could pull the Master Sword from it's stone prison. Zelda also gave the Ocarina of Time that day. (It is the exact same as the Ocarina from Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask but is even more powerful.)**

**Link completed this task for Zelda, but it wasn't easy because Ganondorf marked him as an outlaw, and townspeople called the guards when they saw him. Luckily, not everyone believed Ganondorf. The Gorons felt that Ganondorf was a menace and wanted nothing to do with him. When Link arrived at their village, the Goron leader asked Link to pass tests and told Link how he could find the Pendant of Power once he completed the tests. Link traveled throughout the lands, helping all the races of Hyrule and proving to them that he was an honorable warrior, not a kidnapper. These races included the Gorons, Zora, Gerudo, Minish, Rito, and Sheikah. Link also trained with these races, where he learned their secrets and was initiated into their brotherhood. **

**Link was finally able to pull the Master Sword from the Temple of Time and then completed his training of the mighty blade. Link was now around the age of twelve. He was able to vanquish Ganondorf's minions and even Ganondorf himself with the use of the Master Sword and the Triforce of Courage, which seemed to suddenly activate during his fight against the evil King. **

**With Ganondorf's defeat, the King returned. Ganondorf had held him prisoner, but Link had freed him during his quest. Due to his bravery, the King knighted Link at a very young age and the boy was known as a hero throughout the land. **

**Link's journeys didn't stop there. Link returned to the forest where he had grown up so that he could live with Saria and the other Kokiri. Link grew older, unlike the other Kokiri children, and Saria began to act depressed. (She wanted to grow up like Link.) Thus a strange creature from the twilight found Saria. (Midna) When Link discovered this, he found the person of the twilight and demanded to know where Saria was. However, Midna refused to tell Link where Saria was until she helped him defeat the man that overthrew her. His name was Zant. (Pretty much think of this kind of story very much like Twilight Princes, but Saria replaces Ilia.)**

**Link tried to fight Zant one on one, but didn't have the Master Sword, and he wasn't able to properly use his Triforce at all. Plus, Zant had powerful magic given to him by a god. Luckily, Midna saved Link from being killed by Zant at the last moment and brought Link to Impa, who Link was still training under. **

**Impa lead Link to the Cave of Ordeals, a cave that would teach him how to use his Triforce properly. However, the only person to make it through the cave successfully was the original Link. **

**Link completed his tasks in the cave and learned how to use his Triforce well enough. Link was also taught spells by Midna, who by this time began to like Link. One of these spells was how to transform into a wolf. Link also traveled to the Temple of Time and claimed the Master Sword once again. With his new training, and his Master Sword by his side, Link re-challenged Zant, but this time the evil Twili didn't stand a chance. Link saved the Twili from the evil dictator and they too began to consider Link their hero. Midna, a woman of her word, had already told Link where Saria was. Saria had been safe the whole time, just lost. Midna even removed the enchantment on Saria that kept her from aging, allowing Saria to age with Link, albeit slightly slower. **

**Link still had people to save. He had never killed Ganondorf. The real Ganondorf was trapped in the Dark World. Link had only destroyed a puppet named Ganon, who was a much weaker version of Ganondorf. Link was able to defeat Ganondorf with the help of the seven shrine Priestesses; Saria, Ruto, Medli, Nabooru, Darna (the Goron tribe leader's niece,) and Michah (Light priestess from Fire Emblem.) Midna even appeared to help Link one last time. **

**Impa isn't included often because she isn't a shrine maiden. She's a bodyguard of Princess Zelda, and a powerful shadow sage, but she isn't one of the main sages/maidens. **

**Even though Ganondorf was destroyed, he comes back and Link has to defeat him. Sometimes Link needs to travel back or forth through time to defeat him, thus earning the name the Hero of Time. One adventure happened after he had just turned sixteen. A sorceress by the name of Veran stole the Harp of Ages, and went back in time to take over Hyrule for Ganondorf. Link was able to follow her using the Ocarina of Time. (Think of this adventure as Oracle of Ages, but without Nayru." **

**Link continued to ruin Ganondorf's plans until Link became eighteen, and Ganondorf was finally killed for good. Link is now nineteen and has enjoyed a year without Ganondorf's threats, even though he continues to go on adventures. Another threat has risen up against Link and his world, and our hero's present story begins.**


	2. Chapter 1 Link's New Journey

I do not own Soul Calibur or Zelda. Zelda is owned by Nintendo, and Soul Calibur is owned by Namco Bandai Games

Ch. 1 Link's new journey

Fires covered the roofs of several houses in the village of Hyrule. The windmill in the center of the town fell over. Several guards dressed in armor ran through the village to protect the residents, for the town was being attacked. Several lizard-like creatures and golems stormed the village as Hylian guards rushed to protect its inhabitants.

The lizards were like humans turned into reptiles. They walked on two legs and held weapons of various kinds in their hands such as swords, shields, axes, or spears. The golems were giant rock-like creatures that held large, bulky weapons in their hands. They preferred weapons such as large axes, maces, or hammers.

A sorceress dressed completely in black robes that hid his face was the one ordering the monsters from the back of the lines. He was too much of a coward to fight himself.

"Kill them all!" The sorcerer cried. "We will have revenge for the fall of our lord, Ganon."

"Ready, aim, fire!" One of the Hylian captains ordered to a group of archers.

The archers all held war bows that could pierce through armor. When their arrows hit the golems, the arrows exploded magically. Several golems had been destroyed, and the lizards killed, but the creatures continued to raid and ransack the village. Their numbers multiplied even as they were destroyed by the guards. The Hylian guards were forced to throw down their bows and draw their blades. The guards' magical energy surged trough their swords, causing the blades to glow.

The guards fought bravely against the monsters, but they were gravely out numbered.

"We can't let them through!" The guard's captain yelled. "If they take this village, Hyrule's castle will be next on their list!"

The guards continued to fight, but they had been unprepared for this attack, and they did not have enough guards stationed in the small village to handle such a large force attack. Not only that, but reinforcements were a long way off. The remaining guards formed a defense circle to protect each other's backs. They were surrounded by the golems on the foot, and the lizards could climb the walls and ceilings to attack the guards from above.

As the guards began to lose hope, a large boomerang flew through the air, slicing one of the golems in half. The boomerang then slashed at several lizards as it soared through the air to its master. The guards turned to see who threw the boomerang, suspecting that they already knew whom it was.

A lone young warrior stood on top of a burning house and caught the boomerang as it returned to his hand. He had lovely shaggy blondish-brown running down his long, pointy, elfish ears, and sparkling blue eyes. His face was so handsome; it was if the goddesses had designed it. He was dressed in a green tunic layered over a tight white outfit. He wore a pair of brown boots on his feet, and on his arms were a pair of brown, metal gauntlets. It was Link, the hero of Hyrule himself.

"You know, her highness is constantly nagging me about taking time out for myself, yet when ever I begin to relax, something like this always happens." Link stated, drawing his blade. Link's blade was the sacred Master Sword itself. A blade that banished evil and was not only considered the most powerful weapon in the world, but in the whole universe. It was said that the goddesses themselves had blessed it. The sword's blade had a bluish tint to it, with a silver and red handle shaped similar to wings. Where the hilt of the sword met the blade, there was a gold diamond, and engraved in the blade of the sword was the symbol of the Triforce.

Link jumped down from the house and battled like a mad man. Link quickly killed monster after monster, slaying them with single strokes. Even the stone golems couldn't stand against him.

Link's arrival seemed to bring new hope to the guards as they fought more viciously now. They didn't have Link's fighting skills, but they weren't going to give up, even if it meant their own death.

Link continued to fight his way through the monsters toward the dark sorcerer. He knew that if he defeated the sorcerer, the fight would be won. Link killed the monsters surrounding the sorcerer. One of the golems ran towards Link, swinging his hammer like a madman. The golems were strong creatures; however, they were slow and clumsy, making it child's play for Link to dodge their attacks. Link punched his fist deep into the golem's chest and pulled out a piece of stone from the golem. The golem collapsed with its insides so smashed up, it no longer had anything to keep it together.

Now that there were no more monsters guarding the sorcerer, Link could turn his attention to his real enemy.

"Die!" The sorcerer yelled at Link. A dark mist as emitted from the sorcerer's body and flew towards Link. Link stood still and allowed the mist to enter his body, and then watched as the mist flew out of him. He was completely unharmed by the attack.

"What!?" The sorcerer cried.

"You should have done your homework." Link announced, holding up his left hand. The symbol of the Triforce glowed brilliantly on the back of Link's hand. The Triforce consisted of three gold triangles stacked in a design that showed two smaller triangles on the bottom and one smaller triangle on top, making one large gold triangle.

"I have the powers of Farore, granting me immunity to nearly all curses." Link explained. "That curse was the death curse, if I'm correct. It is meant to kill someone with a single chant. I'm afraid if you want to survive, you'll have to use more than just spells."

"Infidel!" The wizard roared.

The wizard shot a powerful blast of lighting out of his hands towards Link. Link seemed unconcerned. He raised his sword and to block the lighting. As he did, the Master Sword made a barrier around Link, and Link slowly began to walk towards the Sorcerer. The sorcerer tried his hardest to push Link back with the lightning, but Link just kept on walking towards him, using the Master Sword to repel the sorcerer's attacks.

"No, stay back!" The sorcerer cried out, now filled with fear. He stumbled backwards as he tried to create distance between himself and his attacker. "I'm warning you!"

"You want to see your master so badly? Well, then join him in Hell, you monster!" Link roared, raising his sword to finish off the sorcerer. The sorcerer raised a barrier around himself so that the sword would not injure him. The Master Sword collided with the barrier, and sparks of energies flew as the two forces collided. At first, the sorcerer thought he was safe, but then he noticed that his barrier was slowly beginning to crack as Link continued to press the blade against the barrier. Soon the barrier shatter like glass, and with a single swoop of his blade, Link killed the sorcerer. With the sorcerer gone, the golems collapsed, for there was no longer any magic keeping them together. The guards then finished off the lizard creatures that were fighting almost drunkenly now that their master was gone.

Villagers began to come out of their hiding places. Some of them hid in the wells, while others had come out of their houses that were still burning.

"Three cheers for Link, Hero of Hyrule!" One of the guards shouted.

Everyone began to cheer for Link; just they did nearly every time he saved the day. However, Link did not smile as the crowd began to walk towards him, cheering the whole time. He was still worried. Link had hopped that when Ganondorf, or Ganon as others called him, had been destroyed, he'd be nothing but a bad memory. Yet, there was always some psycho out there, still serving him. Link noticed something shimmering on the ground, next to the dead sorcerer's body. He lifted the object up and examined it. It was made from some sort of metal, as if it had been broken off of a sword or shield. Yet, that wizard had not been carrying any weapons. Link could sense that the metal seemed to contain very powerful dark magic.

A tall and powerful looking female warrior walked out of the crowd from behind Link. This woman is known as Impa. She was perhaps one of the fiercest looking people one could meet. Like Link, her ears were pointy like an elf's. She had spiky white hair and red eyes decorated with sliver eye shadow. She was dressed in a silver armored chest plate, back shorts, and black metal boots and gauntlets. On the breast of the armor was a symbol of a single eye with three triangles on top and a tear drop beneath it.

Impa put her arm on Link's shoulder, causing him to jerk around in surprise. Impa's stealth was unmatched and she could appear and disappear from thin air.

"Give Link some room and return to your jobs. You can celebrate after this village is rebuilt." Impa ordered the crowd that was now beginning to surround Link. Out of both respect and fear of Impa, they did as she ordered and began to go back to their normal lives.

"Sorry I arrived a little late, Link." Impa apologized. "Looks like you took care of yet another threat to Hyrule, and in record time I'd have to say."

"I accomplished nothing." Link argued, holding up the piece of metal for Impa to see. Impa admired the metal for a second, but then began to sense the dark energy coming out of it and a worried expression crossed her face.

"Link, where did you find that?"

"The sorcerer dropped it. I don't know what's it's for though."

"We must bring it to her highness immediately." Impa announced. She grabbed Link by the shoulder and the two vanished with out a trace.

Queen Zelda was sitting in her garden located at Hyrule's castle. It was a splendid and peaceful to place to be. Flowers bloomed everywhere and birds chirped in the birdbaths. The garden's beauty seemed faded in comparison to Zelda's physical beauty.

Queen Zelda was perhaps the most beautiful woman in all of the land. Her long brown hair was let loose to blow in the wind and her blue eyes sparkled like the sea. Her face and figure were flawless. She wore a silky blue dress that complimented both her eyes and hair. Zelda stopped dead in her tracks and turned around, just as Link and Impa appeared in front of her.

"Wow, you're getting pretty good if you can even sense my presence." Impa commented.

"I'm assuming you're not here due to a joyous occasion." Zelda predicted.

"How did you know?" Link asked.

"I sensed the sorcerer's defeat from here. However, I feel that there is still some evil presence still lurking, whishing to destroy this land."

"Link, show her highness what you found after you killed the sorcerer." Impa instructed.

Link took out the piece of metal from his pocket and Zelda gasped in shock, bringing her hands to cover her mouth. The metal was something she had seen before.

"This can't be." Zelda trembled. "Link, Impa, please follow me. I have something important to show you."

Zelda led the two through the castle. Eventually Zelda brought them to a large room in the center of the castle. The room was filled with paintings of the various heroes and rulers of Hyrule. In the middle of the room stood a giant statue of Link holding his Master Sword up high. The mighty statue proudly stood on large pedestal.

"Please leave us." Zelda ordered the guards that were keeping watch of the room. The guards saluted Zelda, Link, and Impa, and walked off.

Link could only shake his head whenever he saw the statue. He despised the thing and yet everyone in Hyrule insisted on building statues in his owner. Zelda walked up to the middle of the statue and began to fidget with the symbol of the Triforce on the pedestal of the statue. She moved the three triangles of the Triforce around. When she finished, she stepped back. The statue began to slide slowly across the floor, revealing a secret passageway.

Link looked at Zelda in amazement. Neither he nor Impa knew of this passageway. Impa was just as surprised as Link, but she did not show it. She continued to stand with her arms crossed, waiting for further instructions from Zelda.

"Please follow me." Zelda instructed, walking down the stairs of the passageway. The passageway was so dark, Link could barely see Zelda in front of him. There wasn't a single lantern lighting it. This really didn't bother Impa. Being a Sheikah, she trained in darkness and was very used to it. Link and Zelda were also able to guide themselves in this kind of darkness, but not nearly as well as Impa.

"Light." Zelda ordered. Several torches magically lit up along the stairway, allowing everyone to see and continued to make their way down the steps to the bottom of the chamber.

The bottom of the chamber was surrounded by water, with a small piece of land in the middle. Zelda approached one of the statues.

"Move." Zelda ordered to the statues. The statues, enchanted by Zelda to protect the chamber, did as she was told, revealing another surprise to Link. Link jumped back in shock from what he saw. In the middle of the chamber lay Ganon's old sword, a blade that Link remembered piercing his skin all too well. Link so very much wanted to bombard Zelda with questions now, such as why she had kept Ganon's blade safe all along and why she had kept this a secret from him, but he had too much respect for the queen to do so. After all, she was much wiser than anyone else in the kingdom.

"Link, please hand me the metal shard." Zelda requested.

Link handed the metal shard to Zelda. The queen walked up to Ganon's blade. As she approached the blade, the metal shard began to glow, as did parts of Ganon's sword. It was if they were reacting to each other. Ganon's blade then turned to dust, with only the glowing parts remaining.

"So my theory was true. Ganondorf's blade was infused with metals similar to this one. Link, Impa, can you sense the evil coming from these shards of metal?"

"Yes, your highness, but I'm afraid I don't understand." Link admitted.

"Neither do I, in all honesty." Zelda admitted. "All I know is there is great evil at work here, Link. These shards wish to become one. I can feel it. Only my magic is preventing them from doing whatever they want to do."

"Do you know what that is?" Link asked.

"No, but I sense a greater evil far outside of Hyrule. This shard was somehow affecting that evil sorcerer, not to mention the shards in Ganon's trident made it an instrument of evil. If just a few shards are capable of doing such destruction, I can only imagine what would happen if more appear." Zelda spoke.

"I don't care what these shards are. If they threaten Hyrule, then I will destroy their source, even if it takes me to the ends of the planet."

"This journey may take you further than that." Zelda warned. "As I already said, the true presence of evil lies far outside the world of Hyrule. I can already tell that you are more than willing to take on this mission, Link. Before you go, take these shards."

Zelda handed Link the shards to Ganon's trident. Link eyed them with awe. The dark energy coming out of them had been weakened, but was still present enough for him to sense it.

"I have placed an enchantment on them that blocks the negative energy." Zelda explained. "However, I don't know how long that spell will last. Return here tomorrow and I will have more advice."

"Will do, your highness." Link agreed, bowing gracefully.

Link rode home on his faithful horse, Epona. She was a full-grown brown mare. Link often rode her without a saddle, for Epona was a wild horse and only let Link ride her because Link acted as her friend, not as her owner.

Link arrived to his family's house late that night to sleep before he had to go on his next quest. Link and his family lived in the Lost Woods on the eastern edge of Hyrule. Like usual, Link's little sister, Aryll, ran to Link and gave him a big hug. She always did this when he returned from his missions. Aryll was years younger than Link, but was on the verge of becoming a young woman. She was already as tall as his neck and she grew each day. Anyone could tell they were siblings, because she had the same eyes as her brother, and just slightly blonder hair than her older brother.

Link's grandmother and grandfather walked out to greet him before Aryll could choke him to death at the rate she was squeezing.

"That's enough, Aryll! Give your brother a chance to breathe, for goodness sakes." Link's grandfather instructed. He was a very old man with long white hair and a thick white beard. People often called him Santa Clause when they saw him. He was of average size and a little on the chunky side. His eyes were shaped just like Link's though, and even though no one would have suspected it, he was a mighty warrior.

Aryll relinquished her grip on Link and ran over to her grandmother, who was a short old woman with grey hair tied in a bun. She wore glasses on her nose, enabling her see.

"Did you show that evil sorcerer who was boss?" Aryll asked. "Gave him the one two I bet!" She began to swing her arms in the air, pretending to fight in imitation of Link.

"Something like that." Link responded.

Link's Grandfather saw a look of sadness in Link's eyes. He was sure that Link wasn't able to save everyone's life. Even though the deaths of the guards and some of the villagers upset Link, there was something troubling Link.

Aryll, go to bed." Link's Grandfather ordered.

"Why? Link just got back! I want to hear about his adventure!" Aryll began to object.

"I said go to bed."

"Oh, fine."

Aryll stomped her foot once and went into the house with Link's grandmother following.

"Is there something wrong, my grandson?" Link's grandfather asked.

"I will be leaving early tomorrow." Link explained. "I don't know the details, only that I'll be gone for a while, and that I'll be going far, far away. I wished you wouldn't have sent Aryll to bed so early. She should hear this."

"No, you know how she'll get when she finds out that you're leaving us. It will be only harder on you and her. If you choose to go, get up early and leave before any of us awaken. It is for the best."

"Very well." Link agreed reluctantly.

Link went to bed that night and woke up early just as his uncle had instructed. He snuck into Aryll's room, where the girl was still fast asleep. He left a note that he had written by her bedside and kissed her on her forehead. She continued to sleep peacefully and turned on her side.

"I'll be back before you can miss me." Link promised in a hushed tone so that he didn't wake her. He then turned and began to creep out of the room, careful not to disturb his sister's slumber.

As link was leaving the forest, he heard a small voice.

"Leaving so soon?"

Link spun around to see a pretty girl dressed all in green. She was around the age of fifteen, had green hair, and depressed looking green eyes. The girl's name was Saria, Link's best friend. She was of the Kokiri tribe, which means she stayed a child forever. However, she was able to become older than the rest of the Kokiri and mature mentally far beyond that of a teenager.

"Here you never even said goodbye…or hello for that matter. I would have at least hoped you would have visited before you had to leave again."

Link looked down to the ground, unable to meet the girl's gaze. Even though her words were gentle, the sadness in them cut him like a knife and he couldn't face his friend. Not now anyway.

"Saria…I'm" Link began.

The girl walked over and put a finger over Link's mouth.

"It's O.K." Saria assured. "You don't have to explain to me, I understand. Being the Hero of Time, you must always go out and help those in need no matter where you duties take you."

Saria reached into her pocket and pulled out a simple wooden Ocarina. Even though it was slightly aged and only made from wood, it was well crafted.

"I would like you to take my Ocarina with you along on your travels." Saria insisted.

Saria placed the Ocarina into Link's hands, leaving the young warrior speechless.

"Saria…I…"

"Don't lose it this time though." Saria teased, reaching up and giving Link a little tap on the back of the head.

"Don't worry. I'll cherish it always." The warrior assured. "I must get going though, or I'll be late."

"Right, go get them, Hero."

As Link was about to ride off, but Saria stopped him one last time.

"Oh, Link."

"Yes Saria?" He turned back to see his friend.

Saria reached up on her tiptoes and gave Link a kiss on the cheek. This unexpected surprise caused Link to blush slightly in the face.

"Promise me you'll come back safe."

"Don't worry, you have my word." The warrior assured.

With that, Link rode off into the distance, as Saria watched her friend go off into his next adventure.

******

Link arrived to Hyrule castle as soon as possible. As he climbed off Epona, she snorted in disagreement. Link patted his horse to comfort her.

"I know how you feel, Epona." Link assured. Even though Epona couldn't speak to Link, they understood each other very well. It was a bond they had made during his long travels with her against Ganon. "I'm sorry you can't come with me this time, old girl. Be good while I'm gone, O.K.?"

The horse nodded to Link's request and galloped back to Link's village.

The guards saluted Link as he walked by, and did not bother to question what he was doing there. Zelda and Impa waited in the room where they had planned for Link to meet them. Zelda stood facing the statue, admiring it, while Impa, like always, stood behind the princess with her arms crossed and a cool and collective look on her face.

Link and Zelda faced each other. She obviously had news for Link. Normally he could tell whether or not Zelda's news was good or bad, but for once, he couldn't.

"As I expected, I had a dream last night." Zelda spoke.

Link nodded. Both he and Impa were well aware that Zelda could foresee the future through her dreams. Such a talent wasn't unique to her though. Link and some of the other powerful Hylians had the same gift. However, only Zelda had the wisdom to interpret the dreams. Zelda seemed to have the dreams at will: for whenever she needed answers, she would find them in her sleep.

"In my dream, the goddess Farore appeared to me and said to let the benevolent wind guide you. She is obviously talking about Zephos, the wind spirit. Link, I believe she wants me to teach you the Wind's Requiem, the song of the wind spirit. Please play along with me."

Zelda made a harp appear in her hands, and played a short tune. Link took out his Ocarina of Time. The blue Ocarina of Time was the most well made instrument in all of Hyrule. It originally belonged to the Royal Family, but Zelda gave it to Link as a gift long ago, and he would always cherish it dearly. It sparkled in the light with its mystical powers.

Link was a very quick learner when it came to music. He barely missed a note after hearing the song once. Link and Zelda played the hymn together, with Zelda accompanying him on her harp. Just as Link and Zelda finished the last note, a powerful gust of wind destroyed the windows of the room and entered the room. The wind blew strongly around the room, throwing pictures every which way. Impa grabbed Zelda and shielded her from the wind, holding her tightly in her strong arms. She and Zelda crouched to the ground, trying not to be knocked down by the wind.

"Your highness!" Link cried as the wind seemed to wrap around him.

Zelda looked, but it was too late. Link had vanished.


	3. Chapter 2 A Magicless World

I not do own Soul Calibur or Zelda. Zelda is owned by Nintendo, and Soul Calibur is owned by Namco Bandai Games

Ch. 2 A Magicless world.

Link looked around his surroundings. He appeared to be in a forest. However, the forest was different than what he was used to. Link was used to the giant trees of Kokiri forest, which were the size of towers and covered the entire forest. He could hear the noises of nature, such as rivers flowing, birds chirping, or his friend, Saria, playing her ocarina. However, in this forest, the trees were spread out, sparser, and they were only about twice the height of a normal house. It was quiet in this forest: almost too quiet for Link's liking. Not only that, but he couldn't feel any magic in these woods. This disturbed Link the most. All over Hyrule, he could feel the goddesses' magic, especially in the woods where the trees themselves seemed to be alive, compared to these dead acting oak trees that Link saw in front of him.

Link new immediately that he wasn't in Hyrule anymore, but his location was definitely a mystery. He had traveled the world, but nowhere in Hyrule was as devoid of magic as this place. Link didn't have time to contemplate his thoughts, for he heard a noise off in the distance. The noise had been carried by the wind. It sounded like men yelling and a girl screaming.

Link raced towards the sound of the voice and found himself on a path out of the woods in the middle of a field. The path led to a town off in the distance. Running along the path was a small figure being chased by some men dressed in armor and carrying thin swords. They appeared to be chasing a girl and yelling at her in a language Link didn't understand. One of the men caught the girl, grabbed her air and threw her to the ground. As she tried to get up, another man kicked her back down and knocked her out.

Link's entire body shook with rage. He despised seeing anyone handled like that, especially a small girl. Link rushed towards the group of men with his bow and arrows in hand. He drew an arrow and shot one of the men's blades out of his hand.

"Back off!" Link warned the men, aiming his arrows at their bodies.

The men eyed Link in awe, as if they had never seen someone like Link before. They were left stunned and speechless for some reason. Unlike Link, they were Berocs. Link had met Beorcs in foreign countries before. They were very much like a weaker form of a Hylian, but with smaller and rounder ears. The main difference was that all Hylians were magical, and the average Hylian was a little smarter than the average Beorc.

Link didn't understand why they were staring at him. After they recovered from their shock of Link's appearance, one yelled something at Link and all of the men rushed towards him.

Link immediately shot one of the men in the shoulder as they charged towards him. He dodged their attacks as he spun around and stabbed one in the back with an arrow, finding a weak spot in the armor. He then shot another man in the leg. Link's intention was not to kill the men, only injure them. In fact, he wasn't even strumming his bow the whole way. If he had, the arrow could have easily gone right through the men's chest, armor, and all.

The men continued to run towards Link, forcing home finally draw his master sword and defeat them with ease. All of the men lay on the ground, wounded from the battle. If they weren't out cold, they were too injured to stand. Link hoped that he hadn't injured them too much.

Link walked over to the girl and knelt over her. She was young. She was young, probably just entered her teenage years. She had red hair tied in two pony tales. She was dressed in gothic clothing. This didn't frighten Link though, because the Sheikah ninjas that served Zelda in Hyrule wore similar clothes. Her skin was unusually pale, making Link wonder if she was sick. Link shook the girl gently trying to stir her from her sleep.

"Wake up." Link whispered in a friendly tone. "It's O.K. now."

The girl opened her eyes. They were red, just like a Sheikah's. The girl began to struggle in a panic and began to thrash around violently at Link. Link held her to the ground, trying to be as gentle as he could. She was obviously frightened, and he tried to calm her.

"It's O.K." Link assured. "I'm a friend."

Much to Link's surprise, the girl grabbed a rapier lying on the ground and ran Link through with it. Link yelped in pain as blood ran down his left shoulder and was forced to let go of the girl. She took this as her chance to run from him into the woods, leaving an injured Link alone.

This left Link completely puzzled. Why had that girl been so scared of him? He had told her he was a friend. She grabbed the blade that been shoved through his left shoulder and pulled it out. Blood spewed out of his shoulder from both his back and front. She had really done a number. Any normal man or Hylian would have collapsed from such a wound, but Link stood up. He was a fast healer and could take twenty times the beating of a normal person.

Link tried to pick up the Master Sword with his left hand, but the wound in his shoulder sent a sting of pain coursing through the rest of his body.

"I don't get it. Why did you let her live?" A woman asked from behind Link.

Link spun around to see a beautiful woman behind him. She had white hair and was dressed in revealing purple armor. At first, Link thought she was a prostitute until he noticed some other features. The armor that covered her left arm was shaped to form a deadly claw, and she carried a long metal whip in her right hand that seemed to be made of several links of metal.

The woman gazed at Link thoughtfully, trying to decide what to make of him. Once again, Link didn't understand why she stared, but it worried him. There was something different about this woman that he couldn't quite place his finger on.

"Why, aren't you the most handsome man I've seen in a while? Nonetheless, I suggest you stand aside. I'm here for that girl, and I will kill anyone who gets in my way."

Link stared at the woman still. He hade no idea what she had just said. It was gibberish to him.

"What's wrong? Don't tell me my beauty has gotten the best of you and turned you silent." The woman asked.

Once again, Link only resounded with a puzzled look. "Ukosh sa mi? Kai to ke lo mee." This time, it was the woman's turn to look at Link in puzzlement. The language that he had spoken was nothing like anything she had heard before.

The woman once again looked at Link's face, causing him to stumble backwards. When a woman looked at him that way, it was because they were sizing him up to father their children. However, even though the woman found Link quite handsome, she was looking at his ears more than his face.

"So, it all makes sense now." The woman said to herself, lowering her head with a sly smile on her face. "Well, my dear, since you can't speak English, I guess I'll have to make this simple. You, move." She pointed to Link and then swiped her hand across the air as if she was swatting at an annoying insect. "I'm." She pointed to herself. "Here to kill." She moved her finger across her neck as if she was cutting it with a blade. "The girl." She pointed to the spot where the girl was lying.

Link understood the woman's message all too well. However, instead of moving for her, he grabbed his sword from the ground and pointed it at her. The woman shook her head and smiled.

"I really didn't want to do this to you, but I see you are stubborn."

With a flick of her wrist, the woman's metal whip suddenly came to life. It came at Link like a lighting bolt and became as stiff as a blade. Link quickly jumped out of the way, as the whip hit a rock behind him, smashing right through it. Link looked at the rock while he was in the air, imagining if that had been his body. He had never seen a weapon like that before. The whip continued to fly towards Link as he landed on his feet. Link spun around, dodging the main force of the attack, but the whip still managed to cut him slightly.

Link rushed towards the woman and swung his blade at her. The woman dodged his attack and the blocked this other blow with her whip, which had become as stiff as a blade. The whip wrapped around his arm and tightened. The rough metal link's cut Link's arms and then Link felt a powerful surge of electricity come out of the blade and into his body. Link screamed as the blade electrocuted him. The blade released its grip on Link as he stumbled backwards. Smoke billowed out of Link's body and he was badly wounded. He stared at the woman now, wondering if she really was a woman, or a daemon of some sort.

The woman was shocked that Link was still on his feet. Between his wounds and electrification, he should have been dead. She couldn't help but smile happily. It had been a long time since she faced an opponent who could stand up to her. This young man was really giving her a run for her money, but she knew that this fight needed to end.

Both the woman and Link continued to fight each other with every bit of energy they had. However, the woman and her strange whip-like sword were getting the best of Link. She seemed to be able to control the whip with her mind, and Link had trouble dodging the attacks. The woman slowly chipped away at his energy, weakening him with every blow. Finally, she wrapped her whip around his legs and threw him in the air. Link landed with a thump. Before he could stand up, the woman put her foot on top of him. The woman high heels pressed into his chest and prevented him from getting up. She then kicked him in the face, knocking him unconscious

The woman continued to stare at Link, wondering what to do with him. She was debating on whether or not to kill him. He was strong and noble, qualities that were rare these days. It would be a shame to kill him. No doubt he could be put to good use. On the other hand, he had already gotten in her way once, and might be willing to do it again. That could not happen.

Before the woman could make up her mind, she heard noise coming from the village. As she looked up, she saw several men coming her way. They were most likely wondering what happened to the villagers who had chased the girl. They hadn't spotted Link or the woman yet, which was a good thing. The woman quickly thought about what to do. She knew that she could kill the men. It didn't matter how many there were. They would all fall to her blade. However, if she did let this warrior live, she would have troubles in the future.

"Sorry there." The woman apologized to Link. "Looks like your end is now."

The woman got up and walked away from Link, leaving him to die. The men would most likely kill the young warrior when they found out what happened. She couldn't help but feel a small bit of guilt as she left the young warrior to die, but it soon vanished form her heart as she walked into the woods after the girl. She had more important matters to deal.


	4. Chapter 3 Wind Bound Destinies

I do not own Soul Calibur or Zelda. Zelda is owned by Nintendo, and Soul Calibur is owned by Namco Bandai Games

Ch. 3 Wind Bound Destinies.

Link suddenly awoke in the woods. His wounds had all been treated and there was a bright fire burning next to him. His sack of items and sword had been removed from him though. He desperately searched around for his blade and saw it leaning against a tree on the other side of the fire. He got to his feet and moaned in pain. He was still sore all over. He slowly made his way to the Master Sword when he heard a slight rustling noise in the brush again. Unlike before, Link's would not lower his guard and his senses were now as keen as could be, and nothing, no matter how insignificant would get by him. He ducked into the bushes out of sight as a figure began to emerge from the brush.

It was a girl. She looked to be in her early teens, for she was still developing into a woman, but was rather short and small. She probably wasn't even five feet tall yet. Her black hair had a shiny blue tint to it, and her eyes were a dark brown. She wore a strange outfit for someone her age. It was comprised of baggy shorts and low cut tank top that only covered her chest. In each hand, the girl carried a weapon that Link had never seen before. They were definitely blades, but they were shaped more like a gun. Link had to admit, she was a cute as a button, but Link knew now not to be fooled by appearances, especially after his incident with that red-headed girl and white-haired woman.

"Hello!" The girl called in a language that Link didn't recognize. It was the same language as that woman had used, but had a slightly different accent to it. Could she be in league with that woman who had nearly killed Link?

"Where are you? I know you couldn't have gotten far."

Link stepped out of the woods with his bow pointed at the girl's chest. She jumped back in fear.

"Zaxo eekalu." Link demanded. 'Who are you?'

"What?" The girl asked

Link became to become increasingly frustrated. Didn't anyone speak Hylian in this world?

"Please don't shoot" the girl begged. I'm a friend." She pointed to herself. "Talim." She introduced herself, hoping that giving him her name would allow her to be trusted.

Link didn't respond to the girl though, he only kept his bow pointed at her chest, looking her up and down. Talim noticed that she was still carrying her weapons. She set them down to try to calm the young warrior, and backed away with her arms in the air.

She could tell that Link was good just by looking at him and that he didn't want to hurt her. However, she also knew that he was badly injured at the moment and probably really frightened. Link seemed to twitch in pain as he held his bow. His left arm had still not recovered.

"See? Friend." She assured Link.

Link put down his bow. It felt good to release that kind of strain on his left arm. The two continued to stare at each other. Neither of them wanted to move, worried that the other would lash out. Talim continued to look into Link's beautiful blue eyes, remembering how she had found him.

_Talim had been walking along a path towards a town. She had been traveling for days, letting the wind guide her and now she needed to pick up some supplies for her journey. As Talim approached what seemed to be a peaceful town with a forest a few acres away from it, a strong wind began to blow against her back. Coming from the Village of the Wind Deity, Talim believed that the wind contained messages, and it did. Talim had a unique ability to read the wind, and it communicated with her often, guiding her on her path. She was on a journey to find a dark blade known as Soul Edge and destroy it. _

_Talim had heard of Soul Edge, it was a cursed blade that was said to hold a powerful and evil spirit in it. The blade could take over the minds of its wielders and was said to cause great evil. Talim herself had seen just some of the evil that the blade had caused first hand on her journeys. It had the capability of causing hate, war, and even spreading disease across the land. Talim had once stopped in a village full of children that were ill by some sort of curst brought down upon them by soul edge. Talim was able to heal the children using a technique that she had been taught, but the fact that something that evil still remained still bothered her. _

_The wind continued to blow into Talim's, trying to get her to hurry. Talim was moving as fast as she could through the woods, listening to the wind. She didn't understand why the wind was trying to rush her so, but she listened to it anyway. She was worried that there must be something that if she didn't arrive to soon, she'd be too late. _

_As Talim ran up a hill, she saw a young warrior dressed in green being knocked down by a woman with white air and purple armor, carrying a metal whip, off in the distance. Talim didn't know why, but she could sense strange energy in both of the people even from so far away. Talim drew both of her weapons and ran towards the fight, unnoticed by both the warriors. The white haired female kicked the green dressed warrior in the face and left him to die as she ran into the woods. _

_Talim ran up to the warrior dressed in green to see if he was O.K. That was the first time she saw the elf. Even then she could tell that there was something special about him as she noticed his large pointy ears. 'Could he have been an elf of legends?' Talim wondered. Talim could also sense a strange energy inside the elf's body. It was nothing like she had ever felt before. She couldn't tell if the energy was evil or good. It was clear that it was powerful though, powerful enough to even rival Soul Edge. _

_Once again, the wind began to blow, but this time it blew around Talim and Link in a spiraling motion. Talim listened to the wind's words carefully, even though the message that it was giving her was loud and clear. _

"_Protect this boy." The wind spoke. "For your destinies are bound together." _

_Talim was interrupted by shouts coming from the path that lead into the town. Talim turned to see several men dressed ready to fight and riding on horses coming straight towards her and Link. _

"_I will hold them off." The wind spoke to Talim. "You must get him to safety." _

_A powerful gust of wind blew towards the men, knocking them all off of their horses. This gave Talim a chance to drag Link into the woods where they couldn't be able to tract them as easily. Talim knew full well that that woman had also entered the woods, however, she knew that the woods were the safest place for them right now. Plus, she couldn't sense the woman's dark energy anywhere, indicating that she was either hiding it, or was no where to be found. _

_Once Talim felt she was deep enough into the woods, she knelt down and began to dress the elf's wounds. Talim may have been young, but she was knowledgeable on how to treat a wounded person. She found the perfect herbs from her bag and applied them to the elf's wounds to prevent injection and than wrapped them. Even when covered in blood, she couldn't help but notice how handsome the elf As removed his tunic to apply some bandages, she blushed, seeing his strong and muscular body. Once she was done wrapping the young elf's body, she put his tunic back on, deciding to keep what she had done a secret. _

_After Talim had finished attending to Link, she decided to leave him and get some food for when woke up, hoping that she would be able to speak to the elf of why he was here and where he was from. Little did she know that the person she had just saved would threaten her with a bow and not able to communicate with her… _

"Link." Link pointed to himself, interrupting Talim's thoughts.

Talim turned to look at Link again. It seemed as if he too had been paying attention to the wind. The breeze continued to blow around them, almost as if it was trying to communicate with them, encouraging the two youths to greet each other.

"The wind." Talim spoke, facing the wind again.

"Wind." Link repeated, trying to speak the same language as Talim. Talim looked at Link again. His blond hair blew against the wind, and his face glowed in the moonlight. Was it possible that Link could read the wind like she could? But how was that possible? Only people from her tribe at such an ability, and it appeared to her that Link had even come from this plant. Who ever he was full of mystery, and of beauty. Almost like nature itself. Link turned to face her again, noticing that she was staring at him again, but in a different way than the guards and the woman had. He gave her a friendly smile. Seeing those shiny blue eyes look at her, Talim turned her head away and blushed. Link looked puzzled and shrugged. No matter how wise or old he got, girls would always be a mystery to him.

Talim's thoughts of Link were interrupted when she heard a sizzling noise on the fire.

"Oh no!" She cried as she ran over to the fire. On top of the fire was a black pot of food cooking. However, in all of excitement, she had forgotten about it, and now it was burnt. Talim had an embraced look on her face as Link looked down at her and smiled again.

"Jaka acuu." Link chuckled, patting her on the back.

Talim didn't know if Link was teasing her about the food or trying to offer sympathy. She scooped some of the food up into a bowl that was next to the fire. She then gave Link his own bowl.

"Well, it may not be the best in the world, but it is food after all." She exclaimed to Link. "Dig in."

"Zeeka." Link thanked, bowing to her gratefully. Although the two didn't speak the same language, they could understand each other a little bit.

Talim finished her meal before Link had. Link on the other hand was taking his time with it, eating slowly and polity as if he was in the presence of royalty. In all honesty, it was the worst thing he'd tasted in a long time, but didn't want to show Talim that. Talim had trouble keeping her eyes off of Link. She couldn't help it. He was CUTE, especially with those ears. Talim found herself reaching out and touching one of them. Link quickly jumped in the air and yelped in surprise.

"Kashin!" Link yelled at her. He didn't seem very mad, just mostly surprised.

"I'm sorry." Talim apologized, bowing her head in apology so Link would understand. Link smiled and nodded, excepting her apology. "You're an elf, aren't you?"

Link looked at Talim puzzled. The word elf seemed to stick out of the sentence. What was an elf, and what exactly did it mean? Link finished his food and rubbed his tummy, saying "mmm" Trying to indicate that the food was good.

Talim knew that he was only trying to make her feel better. After dinner, Talim began to clean up. Link went over to help her, but she held up her hand for her to stop.

"No, you go rest." She instructed, point to the spot where he had awoken. Link went over to his spot and sat, watching Talim with his blue eyes. His body was still sore and Talim knew that. That was the reason she wanted him to rest. Link wasn't tired though. He had slept well enough. Thus he took out his ocarina and began to play it.

Talim listened to Link play. It was the most beautiful sound she had heard in a long time. The song made her feel relaxed and happy inside. Even nature itself seemed to move to the music, as if the song had mystical powers. Link stopped playing as another light breeze blew against him and Talim.

"Talim, wind." He told her, using the only two words he knew so far.

"Yes, wind." Talim responded. She turned to look at the night sky. It was so peaceful. Link yawned, and Talim turned to look at him. "You should go back to bed."

"Zaku achi?" Link questioned. Talim seemed to continually forget the fact that he couldn't speak English.

"Sleep." Talim clapped her two hands together and put them to her cheek and closed her eyes.

"Link no sleep." Link argued. "Talim." Link pointed at her, indicating that she needed the rest herself.

"No." Talim argued. "You're hurt. I'll be fine." Talim was persistent. She grabbed Link by the arm and tried to pull him down so he'd go to sleep. However, she couldn't budge Link.

"Fine, I'll sleep for awhile too then." Talim assured. "I suppose if anything comes at us the wind will warn me anyway."

Talim laid down on the other side of the fire, and kept one eye open as she watched Link. Link leaned against a tree, watching Talim. He wasn't tired yet. Link took out a shiny blue ocarina from his bag and began to play a lullaby with it. The song was so peaceful and soothing, that Talim had to force herself to stay awake. However, soon she succumbed to the music and was fast asleep.

Talim awoke that mourning and stretched out. She had slept well.

"Oh no! Did I sleep throughout the night?" She huffed. "Oh no, I'm sorry Link. I meant to watch over you."

However, Link didn't reply. Talim looked around, but Link was nowhere in sight. His sword and bag of items was gone and there wasn't a hint of the elf's presence. It was as if had disappeared.

"Link!" She called out, looking around for him, but there was no answer. "Link, where are you?"

Talim began to worry. What if someone had snuck in that night and taken the elf. Poor Link. She knew that Link wasn't helpless, but she doubted that he well enough to fight. However, there didn't seem to be a battle. Then another thought crossed her mind. Maybe Link just left. Maybe he didn't want Talim's help and had snuck away while she was sleeping. Talim fell to her knees at that thought. Even though she and Link didn't know each other at all, she couldn't help but like him…a lot. He seemed so nice at first. The wind blew in Talim's face, and carried the sound of what seemed to be an Ocarina. Link's Ocarina.

Talim rushed towards the sound. It wasn't far. Then again, she doubted Link could have gotten far so injured. Talim found the source of the song. Just as she had predicated, it was Link, playing his Ocarina. He was sitting at a stream with a fishing rode between his legs. He held on to the fishing rode with his feet like a monkey, waiting for the fish to bite.

"Link!" Talim cried, running up to the elf and embracing him with a hug. Link dropped his Ocarina and was practically knocked down by Talim. Talim looked up at Link. She could see that he had a nervous smile on his face. Realizing what she was doing, she suddenly jumped away from him, more flustered than she had ever been before in her life. Link looked at her confused. Talim quickly hid her embarrassment with fury. She put her hands to her hips and began to lecture.

"Well, what do you have to say for yourself, you man?" Talim lectured. "Who do you think you are sneaking off like that so early in the morning? I was worried sick. If you don't want my company, all you need to do is say so."

Link looked at her confused. Was she lecturing him or something? It was quite a funny sight in his eyes. Here she looked no older than Aryll, and yet she was lecturing him as if he was a child. Link's line suddenly began to tug and Link, grabbed it with his hands, wheeling in what was one of the largest fish Talim had ever seen. It was half the size of Link. Link held up his prize proudly.

"Mmm" Link said to Talim, pointing to the fish and then to his and her belly.

So that's what Link was up to. He was getting her some food for the day. She couldn't help but smile. Even though Link was older than her, he seemed young and innocent in the face, yet his body was so strong and muscular. This was probably what attracted Talim to the elf so much.

"Talim?" Link questioned, point to the fish and shrugging as if he didn't know what it was. He wanted to know what to call it.

"Fish." Talim replied, answered the elf's question.

"Fish?" The elf asked.

"Yep." The girl replied with a giggle.

Link walked back to the fire with Talim right behind. There he put his fishing rod back into his bag and took out a knife. The knife was as sharp as a sword looked dangerous. The blade of the knife was actually made of two blades: ne thicker blade that was curved and then one thinner, straight blade. The two blades were then fused together with pieces of metal crossing them.

Talim sat next to Link by the fire as he skinned the fish, preparing it for dinner. Talim ran over to Link and grabbed her pot that she had cooked in from the night before and brought it over to him. There she poured water into the pot and then placed the fish meat in it, setting it over the fire for the fish to bowl. Once he was done, he put his knife back into his bag.

Talim had guessed by now that Link's bag was magical. She had already seen him put a bow and quiver of arrows, a fishing rod, ocarina and now a knife in it. Yet the bag was small and fit on Link's belt, where it hung down over his butt. Who knew what else Link had in that bag and what other magic he was capable.

As the two ate, a breeze of wind blew by them, hitting Talim in the face.

"I know." She replied to the wind. Link turned to her, thinking that she was talking to him. But then noticed she was facing the direction of the breeze.

"Wind?" Link asked Talim, as an indication that he was wondering what she was doing.

Before Link got his answer though, Talim ate her food as fast as she could and began to pack as if she was panicked. He had become distracted by Link's presence. Link looked at her confused again by her actions.

"Link, we've got to go." She announced.

Link stood up. He wasn't quite sure why Talim was in such a hurry, but he guessed it had something to do with the wind. It was then that he remembered what Zelda had told him about her dream.

'_Let the benevolent wind guide you._' Her words echoed in his head. So, if Talim was receiving instructions from the wind god, than that must mean that she is suppose to lead him. Yes, that was it. Every thing happened for a reason Link felt. This was no coincidence. Link stood up and threw the Master Sword over his back. If the goddesses wished Link to follow this girl, than he would with out question.

"Wow, you look determined." Talim pointed out.

The elf merely nodded as a response.

"Well, I guess its time to go then."

Link followed Talim through their adventure. Link often pointed to objects in curiosity to learn their name, and Talim would tell him. She was impressed. He was actually trying to learn her language, and was doing so at a quick pace. However, Link was a long way off before he could actually communicate well. The most he could do was say a few words, much like a toddler who is first learning to talk. Nonetheless, Talim and Link seemed to understand each other through means beyond words. They could tell how each other felt just by looking at one another. It was weird. Talim had never been this close to someone before. It made her feel nervous with Link. It was bad enough that she liked him, but this made her feel even closer to the elf. Link had experienced this before, but only with two people; her highness, Zelda, and his best friend, Saria.

The two stopped traveling for the night. Link was tired. During their travels, Talim consistently stopped and would check on Link to make sure he was doing O.K. Link appreciated her kindness towards him, but was slightly annoyed of how protective she was of him. She seemed to underestimate his strength. Link allowed her to pamper him though.

During the night, Link would play his ocarina, which also seemed to have bewitching effects on Talim and the rest of his surroundings. Talim never lifted her gaze from Link as he played. It was as if she was in a trance. However, it wasn't the magic of the ocarina that caused her to act this way, but Link himself. She longed to tell Link everything about herself. However, Link still didn't grasp enough English to understand most of what she said, and she didn't know where to begin with learning his language. Thus, language prevented her from learning about him. She was most curious about Link. She knew that the elf was from far away and wanted to know everything about him. What his home was like, if he had a family, and if there were others like him, although something told her that Link was one of a kind.

Once again, Talim woke up one morning to find Link gone. She guessed that he just went fishing again and that he would be back again. She wished he wouldn't sneak off without telling her, but at least she could hear his ocarina in the background. The song Link played today was so lively and happy, it made her want to dance, and so she did. She danced like the wind, and it seemed that the wind danced alongside her. The wind blew around her, blowing her hair and clothes in its gust. Talim took out her gun-shaped knives and began to dance while using them. She was well trained with using her blades and twirled them around expertly as she danced. The music began to grow louder, and Talim in turn danced with greater energy. As the music became louder and more powerful, she too did the same with her dance, mimicking the music as she heard it. It sounded like the song was just a few feet away from her and she was covered in sweat as she moved to its rhythm and melody. The song suddenly stopped, and Talim stopped too. She turned and saw Link, watching her.

How long had he been there? She dropped her weapons and once again turned red in the face. He wasn't supposed to see her. Link only laughed a joyous laugh. It wasn't meant to make fun of her, but to show her that he enjoyed her performance. He once again began to play his tune, but Talim didn't dance this time. She was both tired and embarrassed, so Link stopped playing and eyed her with those blue eyes. They seemed to express slight disappointment, but once again, Link perked up and held up a fish that was as large as he was. He was obviously proud of what he had accomplished.

"Well, looks like I know what we're eating for awhile." Talim proclaimed a smile had once again crept over her face.

"Xacuta insibious." Link spoke, nodding in agreement.

After the two ate and traveled once again for the day, they set up for camp. As always, Link sat and played his ocarina for Talim. She gave up trying to not fall asleep to the instrument. It was such a peaceful instrument and she allowed herself to be surrounded with its enchanting melody. After Talim had fallen asleep, Link stopped playing his ocarina and looked up. The elf saw a pair of red eyes looking at him. Link had sensed this person's presence from the very first day he had played his ocarina for Talim in the evening, and he often sensed them at night, listening to him for a few seconds and than vanishing.

"You can come out of hiding." Link assured the person in his Hylian tongue. Why he bothered speaking he didn't know. It's not like the person understood him. Instead, the pair of eyes vanished into the moonlight. Link merely shrugged and went to bed. Whoever this person was, they would reveal themselves in good time. That he believed. Link lay down to go to sleep. He was tired and his wounds were beginning to bother him again, even though most of them had healed, he still had trouble using his left arm still.

As Link and Talim slept, a powerful breeze blew across them, putting out a fire. Talim was awoken by the wind, and quickly drew sabers, ready for action. The wind carried a warning that something evil was approaching. She could sense it all too well, but she couldn't pin point it. Link was up as well, with his Master Sword drawn. A powerful blast of shadows flew towards Talim and Link. Link quickly tried to push Talim out of the way of the blast but by doing so he took the full force of the blast and was knocked off of his feet an into a rock, head first. Link lay limp on the ground, not moving. Talim got back to her feet and saw the elf bleeding heavily from the forehead.

"Link!" She cried, seeing her friend hurt again.

A sinister laugh came from the direction of the blast and an evil-looking knight walked out of the shadows.

**Just to let everyone know, Talim is sixteen in this story because I had to change her age so she could like a nineteen-year-old Link with out it being perverted. **


	5. Chapter 4 Meeting Soul Edge

Ch. 4 Meeting Soul Edge

At least Talim thought he was a knight at first but now it was clear to Talim that this wasn't a night, but a monster. The creature was dressed head to toe in dark armor, with a horn protruding form his helmet. Talim didn't know if that horn was part of the monster or his helmet. His right arm was very large compared to the rest of his body and looked monstrous. It was spiky and had three fingers, each have a long claw at the end of it. Finally there were his eyes. They didn't look like they belonged to a human, but a monster. The creature carried a sword the size of its body. The sword seemed to be made both of tissue and of metal, with a large eye in the middle of the blade.

"Soul Edge!" The monster grunted. "Give it now."

"Try and take it." The girl challenged, getting back to their feet.

The creature then looked at Link with awe. "So what he said was true. The elf does exist. I sense a powerful soul in his body, one that will quench my thirst for a long time."

"Stay away from him!" Talim ordered. "Don't worry Link, I'll protect you." Talim didn't know if Link could hear her or not, and even if he did, he wouldn't understand. But she didn't care. Talim charged towards the monster with full force. Talim's fighting style was a unique one. It was almost like a dance as she darted around trying to slash at the monster. However the monster was both strong and fast. He blocked the girl's attacks with his blade and knocked her to the ground with a single swing.

Talim got back to her feet and continued to attack the monster. She was fast and strong for her age, but nothing like this monster. He continued to get the best of her in the battle as he continued to block her attacks and knock her down once again. This time he hit her with his claw, inflecting slash across Talim's stomach and chest. A small piece of metal fell out of Talim's pocket as she fell. It was similar to the pieces of metal that Link had collected along his journey.

"Here's what I've been looking for." The monster informed, picking up the piece of metal. "Now it's time for the boy."

"Don't touch him!" Talim roared, fearing for Link's life she suddenly felt new strength enter her body. She ran at the monster and slashed him across the chest with her blade. Talim looked to see how much damage she had done, but the monster merely laughed at her. She had only damaged his armor and not his body. The monster grabbed Talim with his large claws, locking girl's arms to her sides. He picked the girl up squeezing her. Talim struggled to get away as the monster lifted her off the ground. The girl felt as if her bones were being ground to dust from the pressure.

"You have a lot of potential." The monster complimented. "I think I'll take your soul as well. It will add quite nicely."

The monster held the sword to Talim's face the girl began to feel the life being sucked out of her. She felt weak and sick. Her eyes became lifeless as she dropped her blades to the ground. She thought it was going to be the end of her when someone grabbed the monsters arm and forced him to pull the blade away from her.

Talim looked to see Link standing back up and a three gold triangles stacked to form a pyramid glowing on his left hand. He was restraining the monster with that hand.

"Let her go, now." Link ordered in Hylian.

The monster turned to Link and replied in the same language. He could talk Hylian! "Do you really think you can beat me, boy? You're still not at full strength. I'll crush you in an instant."

"We shall see." Link responded.

The monster dropped Talim to the ground and turned his attention to a much better prey.

"Link! Run." Talim begged, pointing to off in the distance. She tried to get back to her feet, but couldn't.

"No." Link argued English. "Link protect Talim."

Facing his opponent, Link held the Master Sword in his left hand now. It still hurt, but he could deal with the pain for he would need to fight with all of his skill to defeat this monster. Link then tapped into the Triforce and used every bit of its power that he could. It was very risky, but he needed to if he wanted to win this fight. The power of Link's Triforce turned the silver blade of the Master Sword to gold, and the handle to green. Link's shield became larger and was now like a mirror with a gold border around it. Finally, his tunic turned into gold and green armor. That was the most magnificent part.

It was a combination of gold metal, silver steel, and strong green leather. Link's chest and shoulder where protected by the gold steel. On his hands and feet were golden gauntlets and boots, and around his waist was a golden belt. Along his stomach, underneath the gold armor that protected Link's upper torso was green leather with the Triforce symbol on it. What was weird about the armor was that instead of wearing a helmet, Link wore his green hat with a gold crown. The green cape that went down Link's back blew in the wind.

Link got in his battle position to fight Nightmare or Soul Edge. A gold aura surrounded Link's body as he leapt towards Nightmare, slashing at the villain over and over with lightning speed. Nightmare blocked the attacks and slashed with his sword, but Link kicked off Nightmare's chest and landed out of reach of Nightmare's attack. The Triforce warrior jumped into the air over Nightmare, who shot a blast of shadows out of his sword towards Link. It was the same attack that had knocked Talim and Link off of their feet before. Link raised his shield and blocked the attack.

The shield not only protected Link from the shadows, but seemed to absorb the spell as well. Link landed next to Nightmare as the two mighty warriors exchanged blow after blow against each other. Link's wound on his left shoulder had already reopened, and it was giving him more pain by the second, but he continued to fight with it, as he and Nightmare continued to slash at each other. Link could only think about protecting Talim, just as she had tried to do for him. Link blocked several of the creature's blows with his shield. The monster was probably stronger than Link, but not as fast. The Hylian warrior blocked two more of the monster's attacks with his shield and then retaliated with slashes from his own sword, instantly putting the monster onto the defensive. The creature blocked Link's attack, but Link performed a spin attack with his sword; spinning around in a circle with his blade out, leaving a trace of lighting where ever the sword swept. Nightmare barely dodged the blade as Link swept at him. However, the lightning from the Hylian's sword did strike Nightmare and was enough to cause the monster to stumble backwards. If Nightmare would have been human, the attack would have been able to defeat him. However, it still gave Link enough to time strike again.

Link jumped away from monster and shot a powerful blast of fire out of his sword. Nightmare raised his own sword to protect himself from the blast and skidded backwards from the attack. Nightmare looked up over his sword to see Link charging at him again. Before Nightmare could recover from protecting himself, Link slashed Nightmare across the stomach, causing him to fall to his knees in defeat, using his sword for support.

Nightmare looked at his sword in shock. Every one of the Hylian warrior's attacks had cracked the blade slightly, greatly weakening it. Nightmare noticed that Link was also holding the piece of metal that he had taken from Talim. Nightmare glared at Hylian with the utmost hate.

"This isn't over, boy." Nightmare warned Hylian. "When I regain my strength, my allies and I will crush you like the insect you are."

Nightmare shot a blast of shadows into the ground, causing a blast of dirt and dust to fly up around him and Link. Link charged towards Nightmare to finish him off, but couldn't see because of all the dust. When the debris did clear, Nightmare had already made his escape.

Link walked over to Talim while his clothing and weapons transformed back into their normal forms. Talim was still lying on the ground, unable to move and her vision was still a little cloudy. Link knelt down besides his friend and took out of bottle of red liquid. He then poured the liquid down her throat, making sure she drank every last bit. Talim made a sour face as she drank the liquid. It tasted very bitter, and it even tasted worse than her burnt food that she gave Link. Whatever Link gave Talim, it did the trick and she suddenly felt fully recovered. The girl opened her eyes and stared at Link.

The elf was covered in blood. Even though he had gotten the best of Nightmare, the monster had still injured him. Link's armor was supposed to be magical and protect him against even the strongest attacks. The armor held up well in the battle and protected Link from that monster, but even his magic armor could withstand the might of that blade for very long. The wound on Link's shoulder had reopened, and there were several slash marks across Link's body. He smiled at Talim.

"Link protect Talim." He repeated, before collapsing. Talim quickly jumped to her feet and caught the elf, holding him tightly as she set him down. The girl checked for the elf's vital signs by feeling the pulse on his neck, and putting her ear to his nose and mouth. He was still breath, but barely. The strange mark on his left hand had stopped glowing though.

Talim began to think of ways to heal Link. Unlike the white*haired woman's blade, Talim knew what Nightmares blade was capable of, and she feared for Link's life. She took out the herbs from her bag bandages. She was frantic and she didn't even notice the piece of metal that Link was holding in his hand.

"Why did you have to save me?" Talim questioned, dressing Link's wounds, and beginning to become hysterical. They wouldn't stop bleeding. "Why couldn't you just use that potion on yourself instead of me? Why did you have to try to be a hero?"

"Because he is one." A voice replied.

Talim turned around to see a stranger standing before her.

**Hi readers. If you are wondering what Link's designs are from, his gold sword and shield are based off of the gold sword and mirror shield that he uses in Link to The Past, and his armor is based off of the Magic Armor he uses in Twilight Princes, it's just that the red portion has been turned green and a cape has been added. **


	6. Chapter 5 A Flirt & A Ninja

A Flirt & A Ninja

The person sounded like a man, but by looking at his body, she could have never guessed. His build was more like a female's; slender and athletic.

His presence mystified Talim. It was as if he had appeared out of thin air. There was a strange energy about him, similar to Link's energy, but it was so different from Link's energy at the same time. It appeared the man was trying to hide everything about himself from Talim, and the girl couldn't figure out who this man was or where he came from.

Over his mouth and most of his body was a black cloak with a strange symbol on it. The symbol was a red eye with three eyelashes on top and a single teardrop below the eye. On his feet he wore tight blue metal boots and blue metal gauntlets as armor for his hands and wrists. He had red eyes and a tuft of blond hair had escaped from the hood of the black cloak.

"Who are you?" Talim asked.

"My name is not important." The man responded. "You need not worry about Link. He is strong and will survive whatever that monster did to him. He is simply in a coma right now because he unleashes his true power. All you need do is care for him like you've been doing and everything will be fine. I warn you now though, there are far greater threats, and they are approaching."

Before Talim could question the mysterious man further, he stepped into the shadows and vanished without a trace.

Talim continued to care for Link day after day. She barely ate or slept. She only rested when her tiredness got the best of her and she fell asleep out of exhaustion. However, the young elf continued to sleep. Talim continually checked his pulse to ensure that he was still breathing. Link's wounds healed, but he still hadn't come out of his coma yet.

Talim sat nest to Link, wiping sweet off of his face with a wet cloth when she heard some rustle from the bushes. Talim instantly drew her two blades and prepared for battle.

"I know you're in there, so you've might as well come out." Talim warned.

Two creatures jumped out of the bush in front of Talim, causing her to startle backwards in fear of them. They weren't human, but strange lizard*like creatures. They walked on two legs and each carried a sword and shield. Their skin was covered with green scales and their long tongues hung out of their mouths. Drool dripped across their razor sharp teeth. Their eyes were like a reptile's and darted back and forth, taking in their surroundings.

"What are you?" Talim gasped, in horror.

"Give us the boy." One of the lizard men hissed, pointing to Link.

"No way." Talim responded, getting in her battle stance. She didn't know what these strange creatures were, but she could tell they were evil, and there was no way she'd allow them to harm Link.

The two lizardmen lunged at Talim. Once again, Talim fought valiantly against the monsters, but two against caused her some trouble. She was able to block the attacks of one of the lizardmen's blade, but he tripped her with her tail. The other lizardman took the opportunity to smack her in the face with his shield, knocking her to the floor and causing her to become dizzy.

"Take care of her." One of the lizardmen ordered. "I'll kill the boy."

Before Talim had a chance to react, the lizardmen put his foot on her chest, pinning her to the ground and pointing his blade towards her throat. Talim watched as the other lizardman approached Link's helpless body, ready to fulfill his evil deed. No not again.

"Link!" Talim cried.

This couldn't happen again. Link had just saved her from a battle against Soul Edge and now here she was again. A useless girl unable to defend herself, and now, her new best friend was about to pay the ultimate price for her failure.

"No, I won't let them kill you!" Talim yelled. "I won't let them!"

A powerful gust of wind suddenly burst out of the ground and turned into a small tornado. The tornado sucked up the lizardman who was about to kill Link and then took the lizardman that been restraining Talim. Both the monsters twirled and swung around in the small tornado. They were thrown out of it and hit the ground, breaking nearly every bone in their body. Talim took this as her chance to strike. Drawing both of her elbow blades, she leapt at the two monsters before they could recover and killed them both.

Talim let out of relief when the two lizardmen lay dead on the floor. She had heard of such creatures while traveling. They were said to be creatures of evil who served a dark priest. However, why they were after Link, Talim didn't know.

"Thank you." Talim whispered to the wind.

'_Do not thank me but yourself.'_ A voice responded from the wind. _'Your will to protect your friend allowed me to act.'_

The young girl sat next to Link again, continuing to care for him. Eventually, she fell asleep from exhaustion.

Link looked around as his vision became clear. The first thing he saw was Talim lying next to him. She was sleeping soundly. Link sat up and gazed at the girl. He knew what had happened. He had used the Triforce of Courage, and had overexerted himself, causing his coma. Once again, Talim had cared for and protected him. It touched Link's heart knowing how much Talim had done for him. She had thrown herself at that monster, Nightmare, to protect him, and now she had nursed him back to health more than once.

Link then noticed the two dead lizardmen lying on the ground. Link instantly recognized the creatures from Hyrule. Calling upon his magic, Link made the Master Sword fly into his hand. He soon discovered that the two lizardmen had already been defeated, judging by the blood on their body. Link walked up to the lizardmen and poked at them with his sword, making sure they were really dead. Link noticed that their wounds had been inflected by a strange blade…Talim's blade. Link had a feeling they must be after the shards. Nonetheless, he was happy that Talim had been around this time. They would have most likely killed him while in his coma.

Sensing no more danger, Link leaned against a stump and began to relax. From the look on Talim's sleeping face, he could tell that she was exhausted and needed her sleep. He didn't wish to wake her yet.

Talim awoke to the sounds of a soft and soothing song from an ocarina. Immediately, Talim jumped up. There could only be one person who could play that. She turned and there was Link. Leaning against a tree with his eyes closed, playing the mystical instrument.

"Link!" Talim cried.

Link barely had time to react as he was toppled over by Talim with a hug.

"Talim, Zaku anio." Link let out a nervous chuckle. He was surprised by Talim sudden leap at him, but knew that the girl was only happy to see him up finally. Talim blushed and quickly jumped off of Link, embarrassed by how she was once again unable to control herself when around him.

"Well, it's about time you got up sleepy head." Talim nagged, but her tone was that of teasing. "You've been asleep for days."

Link smiled in response to Talim's teasing. Her language was still very strange to him, however, he was getting to the point that he had a relative idea of what people were saying to him, even if he didn't know what the words meant. Link walked over to his sword and shield and strapped them over his back.

"Talim." Link announced, with a nod.

Talim understood what Link met. Now that Link was better, it was time for them to continue their travels. Link then over to the camp sight and saw something and saw a small piece of metal glimmer. He had almost forgotten. Link quickly ran over to the campsite and picked up the piece of metal. It was the metal that he had taken from Nightmare during his fight against him. It had been easy to grasp the shard out of Nightmare's monstrous claw, and the elf had received a mighty blow from Nightmare's blade because of it. Link felt his chest remember the pain he felt from that monster's blade. The wound ran down his entire chest and still hadn't completely healed.

Talim saw Link pick up the shard of metal. It was her shard that Nightmare had taken from her.

"Soul Edge." Talim gasped. "Link, don't touch that!" Talim ordered.

Link just turned to Talim with a look of puzzlement. The elf took out a metal box that had been painted blue and gold and opened it up, placing the metal shard into it. Talim ran up to Link and grabbed the box from him before he could close. She peered inside it and much to her surprise; there were several shards inside the box. However, unlike Talim's shard, the girl could sense that these shards seemed to have some sort of enchantment on them, blocking the negative energy that they were trying to release.

"Link, how did you get these?" Talim questioned the elf, her tone now serious.

"No." Link responded to Talim, taking the box from her. The elf put the lid back on and put it into his case.

"Link, don't you know what those things are? They're dangerous."

Link didn't respond to the girl's words, and she sighed. Link was becoming more mysterious by the second, not to mention that other character that had spoken to her before. Talim knew that mysterious figure was connected the Link somehow. She wondered what their connection to Soul Edge was.

Link face remained stern as he studied her. His once boyish features were now fierce. Talim looked into the boy's face. The only time she had seen him look like that was right before she blanked, as he was about to attack Nightmare. Talim was gripping her blades. She didn't want to fight Link. However, those shards were a danger to everyone, including the young elf. A gust of wind blew towards Talim and the girl's eyes suddenly widened. She put away her weapons and stared at Link.

"You do know how dangerous they are." Talim injected. "That's why you are keeping them in the box. You are using magic to keep the shards at bay so they can't hurt anyone."

Link nodded. He sensed that Talim understood. Another gust of wind blew against Talim. The young girl closed her eyes and listened to its message. It was giving her directions on where to go next.

"This way, Link." The girl instructed, following the wind's advice.

As always, Link followed. His face had once again become that of a boys and he became friendly towards Talim. He didn't understand why she wanted those shards, but by judging by Talim's character, he had a feeling that she was doing to it protect him, thus he forgot about it.

Talim and Link continued their journey, with Talim leading Link, and the wind leading Talim. Once again, the two stopped for the night to make camp and rest. The tension over Soul Edge had long disappeared between the two and they were back to being good friends again, trusting each other with their lives.

Link sat on the other side of the fire, playing a joyful song. Talim recognized the song. It had been the one that Link had caught her dancing to one night. Link continued to look up at Talim with a hopeful look in his eye.

"You want me to dance, don't you?" Talim guessed.

Link lifted the Ocarina from his lips and replied with a mischievous grin. He then continued his playing. Talim sighed, deciding to humor the elf, and she began to dance with her blades. Link watched the dance with enjoyment as he accompanied Talim on the ocarina. The young girl moved as if she was the wind itself. When Link stopped playing his song, Talim ceased her dancing, covered in sweat.

"Boy, I need a bath." Talim panted, wiping the sweat off of her face. As she walked past Link, she covered her nose, getting a good whiff of the elf's smell. "Phee*ew!" Talim announced to Link. "When's the last time you took a bath, Link?"

Link understood what Talim meant by the fact that she covered her nose when she spoke. He sniffed his arms and got a disgusted look on his face. He just realized that he hadn't bathed since he arrived. No wonder he reeked. Link stood up and grabbed his sword and shield.

"Link bath." He agreed, shaking his head. Link began to walk towards a nearby river. Talim, understanding where Link was going, didn't dare attempt to follow.

Link hung in clothes over a branch to dry after he had washed them. He stepped into the river to cleanse himself of his foul odor. As he washed in the river, he sensed a presence. Link turned around to see a pair of hands grab his clothes and sword and disappear into the woods. Link quickly ran out of the water and ran in the direction he had seen the weapons disappear. Luckily, he wasn't completely naked. Link was wearing a pair of brown pants that he had kept in case of times like these.

A young woman no older than the age of twenty sat in the middle of the woods looking at Link's sword. She was a pretty woman. Her blond hair was cut in a short style that stopped halfway on her neck. She wore a short green dress, brown boots that went up to her knees and brown gloves on her hands. Across her back, she carried a short sword and a small, round shield.

Link's blade interested the young woman. It was nothing she had ever seen before, sleek and sharp; it looked like it could cut through steel effortlessly. The blade seemed to almost glow in the moonlight as the woman looked at her reflection in the blade.

Link suddenly leapt out of the woods and grabbed the young woman. He wrapped one of his arms around her waist, which pinned the woman's arms to her sides, and he wrapped his other arm just below her neck.

"Mazaku cashoa." Link ordered, wanting his clothes and sword back.

The young woman struggled, but couldn't get away from Link. His strength was too great for her.

"Well, aren't you a strong one?" The young woman chuckled, as if she almost enjoyed being restrained by Link. "I just hope you don't cry after I kick your butt."

The woman then surprised Link by stepping on his foot as hard as she could. Link yelped as the woman's boot hit his bare foot, loosening his grip on her slightly. The young woman slipped out of Link's grasp and drew her weapons, slashing at him. Link jumped back and looked at the Master Sword, which was behind the woman.

The young woman continued to swipe at Link with her blade and shield. Link continued to jump back from the woman's attacks. It was strange how the woman attacked. Link couldn't tell if she was really bad at using a sword, or if she was purposely trying to miss. Link then noticed the twinkle in the woman's eye. She was planning something. Link looked towards the Master Sword. If he had any sort of weapon, he would have been able to make short work of this young warrior. It was then Link figured out what the woman was doing. She had purposely backed him away from his blade so that he wouldn't be able to fight back.

Link ducked, nearly avoiding a blow to the head. The young woman had become much more aggressive now that he was out of range of his sword. Link could always use magic to summon the Master Sword to fly into his hand, as he had been taught to do by Impa in a training session. However, he wasn't sure using magic was the wisest choice. No matter though, he had to end this one way or another.

Before the young woman could react, he kicked the woman's blade out of her hand. He could tell that by the look on her face that she had not expected him to move so quickly. Link caught her arm as she was about to hit him with her shield and threw her to her stomach, pinning both her hands behind her back. The woman struggled as Link restrained her, but was helpless in her position.

Link's ears suddenly perked up and he jumped in the air, dodging a ninja star that had flown in his direction. Link sensed movement in the treetops. Only a sheikah was capable of such stealth. Yet, why would one of Impa's warrior's attack him?

"Sheikah, uno galia!" Link shouted at the tree tops.

However, the only response to Link was another ninja star. Link jumped back, dodging the attack. Link turned his head just in time to see the young woman on her feet again. She smashed her shield into his head, causing Link's head to snap to the side. Such a blow would have easily been capable of knocking a normal person out, but not Link. He staggered backwards, stunned by the attack. This gave the woman a chance to comically push Link down onto his back. The young woman leapt into the air and landed right on top of Link's face with her bottom! Link fell unconscious from the impact.

As the girl got up off of Link, she stated, "Ow," as she rubbed her bottom.

Talim hid behind a tree in the spot where Link had been bathing. She knew she shouldn't be here, but she was worried. Link hadn't come back, and it had been two hours since he had left. She had convinced herself that she was just going to take a little peek to just make sure her friend was O.K., and that was it. Talim turned around and slowly poked her head around the tree to see Link and then quickly turned around, blushing furiously for what she had done. However, something occurred to her. Once again, she poked her head around the tree only to see Link missing from the river.

Talim quickly ran towards the river to look around.

"Oh no! Where did he go this time?" Talim huffed, a little worried.

She searched around and found Link's foot prints on the river bed, heading towards the woods. Talim wasn't a very good tracker, but it appeared to her that he had left in a hurry.

"Link!" She called, following the footprints. Talim was really beginning to worry now. She hoped he would at least play his ocarina, but she couldn't hear a sound, causing her to wonder if he was in some sort of trouble.

"Tell me, are you looking for the elf?" A woman asked.

Talim quickly spun around to see a female ninja dressed in red. The ninja looked like a mighty warrior, with her dark brown hair tied up in a bow. She carried two short ninja blades, one strapped across her back, and the other strapped across the back of her belt. On her legs, arms, and chest, she wore light-weight armor, and most of her face was covered by a metallic mask.

Talim jumped back and prepared to fight the ninja.

"Don't be ridiculous. You wouldn't stand a chance against me." The ninja chuckled. "If you want to find that elf though, I suggest coming this way." The ninja indicated, as she turned and began to walk in the direction she had pointed. Talim remained where she stood, worried that this could be a trap.

"Well, are you coming?" The ninja asked.

Talim was reluctant to follow the ninja, unsure whether she could trust her or not. However, Link might be in trouble, and Talim wanted to help him, so she followed the ninja, but she made sure she kept her distance from the ninja just in case. However, as the ninja turned the corner out of Talim's view, she vanished.

"What?" The girl questioned. She spun around in a circle, looking for the ninja, but there was no trace of her anywhere. "Where did she go?"

Link regained conscious a couple hours later to find himself bound to a tree. His hands were tied behind his back on the other side of the tree, and a rope was wrapped around his arms, holding him to the tree tightly. Link squirmed to see how tight the ropes were, but it was no good. He was tied up tightly.

"Well well. Look who's woken up." Link's captor giggled. It was the girl with the blond hair. "I have to say, I didn't know your kind existed." The young woman bent down and touched Link's ears. "Especially one as cute as you."

The girl didn't squeeze Link's ear hard. She touched it in a light, flirtatious way. The Hylian felt violated and bit at the young woman, trying to get her away from him. The woman quickly jumped back out of Link's reach.

"Muta goa!" Link growled in Hylian.

"Well, aren't you a feisty little elf." The woman giggled. "You know, if I knew you wouldn't attack me, I'd let you go. But until you can behave, that's out of the question."

Little did the young woman know, as she turned her back, Link was about to make his move. Link was stronger than a human and could break the ropes without much difficulty. However, something stopped Link from doing so. The young woman reached down to grab the Master Sword, and she actually picked it up! No one with an evil heart could even touch the Master Sword without being shocked or killed. This made Link realize that this woman must not be evil. Link waited to escape so he could learn more about this young woman. The young woman held the Master Sword in both hands and tried to swing it. However, the weight of the Master Sword almost threw the young woman to her side.

"Boy, this blade is heavy!" The young girl grunted, trying to hold her arms up as she held Link's blade. "How did you ever carry this thing and that heavy shield on your back?

Link remained silent and didn't answer the woman. He didn't understand a word she had said, even though he could guess by how she grunted while holding the Master Sword. Although she spoke the same language as Talim, she spoke it with a different accent, making it even more difficult for Link to understand her.

"Now, what should I do with you, my handsome elf friend? If I untie you, you'll most likely attack me and try to take this blade. However, I can't just leave you here."

The young woman went over to get a piece of bread out of her pack and began to eat it. Seeing the food made Link's stomach growl. The elf hadn't eaten yet today, and he was just starting to get hungry. Hearing the elf's stomach growl, the young woman turned to look at him.

"I bet you're hungry, aren't you." The young woman laughed. She broke off a piece of her bread and brought it over to Link. "Now, you'd better listen up. If you try to bite me, I'm going to kick your butt. Got it?"

The young woman brought the bread up to Link's mouth and began to feed him. Link reluctantly ate the bread. He wondered to himself if this was a foolish thing to do because it could be poisoned, but then again, if this woman wanted to kill Link, she could have already done so.

Talim jumped out of the brush towards the young woman and tackled her. The young woman kicked at Talim, who jumped away from the woman before a blow could be delivered and retaliated by trying to attack with her knives. However, the woman raised Link's shield though and protected herself from Talim's attack. Before the two females could continue their fight though, a ninja star was thrown at both of them.

"Talim!" Link cried, warning his friend.

Talim turned just in time to see the ninja star flying towards her and jumped out of the way. The girl jumped out of the way just in time to avoid the attack.

"Show yourself, coward!" Talim ordered.

What appeared to be several ninja-like figures jumped down from the treetops. Their heads were completely wrapped in brown cloth so that only their eyes were visible. They all wore a brown leather vest, baggy white pants, and brown boots. Each of the warriors carried a Chinese*style blade in their hands.

"Dang it! It's a trap." Talim growled, preparing to fight.

"Take care of the girl. We'll get the elf." One of the men ordered.

Three of the men ran towards Link, while the rest of them faced Talim.

"Link, watch out." Talim warned.

Before Link or any of the men could react, a female ninja dressed in red leapt suddenly and killed two of the men with lightning quick reflexes.

The last man ran towards Link, but Link burst free of his ropes and rolled to the side to avoid the man's attack. Link used his magic to summon the Master Sword and shield into his hands, and he blocked the man's next attack. The elf warrior knocked the man unconscious by hitting him the face with his sword.

Link turned to aid Talim and the blond woman, who were both fighting the ninja men as well. Talim had already killed one of them, and the blond woman had killed two. However, the two girls were still outnumbered and overpowered. Link and the female ninja ran over to the two girls to help them defeat the rest of the men. The men were all well trained warriors, but no match for Link or this ninja. Link jumped into the air and performed a spin attack, sending at least five of the assassins flying. The female ninja threw her blade into the air. The blade slit one of assassins' necks, then spun around like a boomerang and returned to the female ninja. As the blade returned, it killed two more assassins. Before female ninja's blade had fully reached her, one of the assassins tried to attack her from behind. However, the ninja easily disposed of the assassin with a quick kick to his stomach, and then jumped in the air and kicked him in the head as she caught her blade. The blond woman defeated an assassin by smacking him in the head with her shield and stabbing him in the stomach with her blade. Within seconds, all of the assassins were dead on the ground.

Once the fight was over, Talim ran next to Link. She stood ready to battle both the ninja and young woman, not trusting them one bit.

"You have nothing to fear from us, young one." The female ninja spoke. She removed her metallic mask that covered her mouth and nose to reveal the face of a beautiful young woman, possibly in her twenties. She looked different than the rest of the group. Her skin was slightly darker than Link's but paler than Talim's, and the shape of her eyes and face were much different than Link and the other two women. She was obviously from a different country. "My name is Taki of the Fu-Ma ninja clan, hailing from Japan. Tell me, what are your names?"

"Talim." Talim still held her weapons firmly, not knowing whether she could trust these two or not. "And this is Link."

Link stared at the two women. He had at first thought this ninja woman had been a Sheikah, but he soon realized he was wrong, for she didn't wear the emblem of the Sheikah, and she was human. As for the young blond, he had a feeling she was a friend, but wasn't overly fond of her after she tied him up.

"Mushaku extimis." Link spoke.

"So, he doesn't speak English." The ninja stated.

"Only a little." Talim responded. "He and I can understand each other pretty well. Link, Taki." Link pointed to the ninja, implying that that was her name.

"If you're wondering who I am, the name's Cassandra." The young blond haired woman announced. "I'd have to say, Link, you have to be by the far the most handsome fellow I've ever met."

The young woman walked up to Link. There was a flirtatious look in her eyes as she approached. Link noticed that and stepped backwards.

"Actim ignus." Link spoke, raising his hands, indicating that the girl was violating his person space. Talim quickly stepped between the two and pushed the young woman away.

"He says to back off." Talim instructed.

"How do you know that?"

"Because unlike you, I listen with more than just my ears." Talim sneered. "Besides, I highly doubt that Link would like being with a 'lady' like you." Talim indicated Cassandra's low cut dress with a disdainful glance.

"Look who's talking?! I'm not the one running around in a bra with a flat chest and see-through pants."

"Don't you dare insult my clothing!" Talim roared offensively. "This so happens to be the traditional clothing of the wind priestesses from my tribe. It is an honor to wear these garments."

"Well, I guess your tribe must be full of a bunch of perverts, judging by what is considered to be an honor, little girl."

"Do not insult my tribe." Talim hissed, her voice now sounding deadly as she began to reach for her weapons. Talim was usually a sweet and innocent person. However, when it came to defending her tribes honor, she wouldn't back down to anyone.

Taki quickly interrupted the two. She didn't like the way this was going and she wanted to stop it before another fight broke out.

"Stop acting like children, you two. Cassandra, come here and sit."

Cassandra, muttering things under her breath, did as the female ninja requested.

The ninja, Taki, had been watching Link out of the corner of her eye. She too considered Link easy on the eyes. It was hard for her to believe he was the same warrior he had just been a few minutes ago. He seemed like such a gentle soul, especially when she looked into his clear blue eyes. They were full of innocence and kindness. However, his ears were what caught her attention the most.

"Please, have a seat by the fire." Taki offered. "You two are more than welcome."

Talim was a little hesitant, but Link walked over and sat right by the ninja. He knew that they weren't enemies. He was interested in the ninja, as he watched her out of the corner of his eye. The ninja had fought with speed that Link knew only few were capable of, and he was curious to how she learned it.

Seeing that Link trusted the two, Talim would as well. This being so, she sat on the other side of Link, getting in the way of Cassandra who was about to scoot next to Link. Cassandra gave Talim a hateful glare which Talim returned.

"Tell me, Link. Are you an elf?" Taki asked Link.

"Mushu actus?" Link asked. The ninja spoke with a heavier and different accent than both Talim and Cassandra. The only word he had understood was elf.

"I suppose you don't understand me." The ninja sighed. "Talim, what do you know of Link."

"Not much." Talim admitted. "But I do think he's an elf."

Talim, of course, did know a little bit more about Link than she shared, such as his powerful magic he used against Nightmare and the pieces of Soul Edge he collected. However, she didn't wish to tell her friend's secrets, especially to strangers.

"I've heard stories of elves." Cassandra spoke. "They are supposed to be the fairest of all creatures, gifted with magic abilities and favored by the gods and goddesses."

Talim turned to look at Link. That would definitely describe him.

"If that is so, then you'd better hope Link isn't an elf." Taki informed Cassandra.

"And why not?"

"Well, judging by the way you treated him, the gods will likely be furious with you. By the way, give him back his belongings, especially his clothes."

"What makes you think I have them?" The blond girl asked.

"Cassandra." Taki ordered.

"Fine. Truth be told, I thought they were mine at first and that's why I took them. I was robbed a couple days ago while sleeping." Cassandra went over and picked up a brown bag. It was Link's bag, the one he carried all of his magical items in, including the pieces of Soul Edge. "You'll find your clothes in there. Don't worry. Nothing is missing."

Link dug through his bag. However, it wasn't his clothes that he was worried about at the moment. The fragments of Soul Edge were gone. Link immediately drew his sword and pointed at Cassandra. All three of the females jumped up in surprise.

"Link, what's wrong?" Talim asked. She then turned to Cassandra. "What did you do?" The girl shouted angrily.

Not being able to explain it in words, Link turned to Talim, allowing her to see his face. By looking into his eyes she was able to figure out everything.  
"The fragments." She gasped.

Link nodded. He could tell that his friend figured it out.

"Give the fragments back! Now." Talim ordered.

"Fragments? What fragments?" Taki asked. "Cassandra, what did you steal."

"You don't know what those fragments are capable of, child." Cassandra lectured Talim. "They're very dangerous and nearly cost my sister her life. I'm here to destroy them so that they can never threaten my family or loved ones again."

"Cassandra, you don't mean…" Taki guessed.

"Yes, I do."

Talim's eyes widened. These two knew about the evil blade as well, and Cassandra was out to destroy it, just like Talim. "You two know about it. Soul Edge."

"All too well." Taki admitted. "Both Cassandra and I are hear to destroy Soul Edge. However, it is obvious that one of us shouldn't be here." Taki turned to Cassandra.

"Hey, don't start that again. I told you. I'm not about to let my sister go after Soul Edge and nearly get killed again. She has a family that needs her, and I don't what to see her or anyone else hurt because of that blade."

Talim could sense the meaning in Cassandra's words were true. The girl grabbed Link's arm and pulled on it gently, instructing Link to put his sword down. Link nodded and sheathed his blade, but still glared at Cassandra.

"Well, your intentions are good, but you'll need to give those shards back to Link." Talim instructed.

"What? Why?" Cassandra asked.

"If you haven't noticed, Link's shards have an enchantment on them that are preventing the evil energy from being released. Also, while those shards are in Link's box, they can't be sensed by evil." The last part Talim didn't know for sure, but she had a feeling it was true. She remembered how Nightmare couldn't sense Link's shards, but could sense Talim's.

"Trust me. I can read the wind, and its Link's job to do something with the shards, although I don't know what."

"Great, so now we have a girl who thinks she can talk to the wind." Cassandra grunted.

"Just do what she says." Taki ordered. Taki, with all her wisdom and experience, could sense something strange about Link. It wasn't just the way he looked or his fighting skills. It was if he was protected by some great force. She had sensed this before in Cassandra's sister, but it was nothing like the force that was within Link.

"Fine." Cassandra sighed.

Cassandra reached into her bag and tossed the box that had contained Link's shards to Talim, who gave the box to Link. Link opened up the box to make sure all of the shards were still there. They were. However, what Link felt frightened him. The enchantment that Zelda had placed on the shards was continuing to grow weaker, and Talim's shard was glowing red, as if it was reacting to something.

"I suppose you'll need this one too." Cassandra reached into her pocket and withdrew a shard that was larger than the rest. It too glowed red. "Be careful though. I don't know how these work, but it's almost as if they drain you of your life force and try to make you go insane."

Cassandra threw the shard to Link, who caught it, and the blond girl let out a deep sigh as if a heavy load had just been taken off of her chest. Link, however, wasn't affected by the dark shard at all.

"I suppose I should give you mine also." Taki withdrew a shard from her bag and tossed it to Link.

"Wait a minute! You mean to tell me that we all had shards of Soul Edge?" Talim gasped in surprised.

"Quite a coincidence, wouldn't you say?" Cassandra added.

Link put Taki and Cassandra's shards into the box, and much to his surprise, the three women's shards fused together. Everyone's but Taki's eyes widened with surprise. Taki had known about this, but the rest hadn't. It was as if the sword itself was alive and reacted to the fragments that hadn't been enchanted. The new larger shard emitted an eerie glow of red light. Link felt the dark energy of the new shard try to enter his body and try to corrupt him, just as it had tried to do to Cassandra. However, the marking on Link's hand began to glow again, releasing its own golden glow, thus protecting Link from the evil curse of the shard and silencing it. Once Link closed the box, the mark on his left hand stopped glowing, for the danger was over. Link turned to see everyone staring at him, but this time, it wasn't his ears that had caught their attention.

"The evil energy of Soul Edge didn't even cause him to flinch." Taki gasped. "Either Link was just willingly possessed by the dark energy, or he has far more powerful magic than any of us could ever dream."

"Link would never let the power of Soul Edge take him over." Talim defended the elf. "Besides, the wind would let me know if he had."

Link only sighed. Even though he didn't understand this language, he knew that they were talking about him, and were probably wondering about his Triforce marking. He couldn't control his magic fully. Half the time it just happened when he needed it most, like now, when Soul Edge was trying to take over his body. It was as if the goddess of courage, Farore, was rising up to protect him in his times of need.

Link couldn't think of how to explain the Triforce to the three women. Even if he could speak their language, such knowledge was forbidden to everyone with the exception of the Royal Family of Hyrule, and also to some trusted individuals such as Link.

All three of the women seemed to be looking into Link's eyes, making sure his pure heart hadn't been affected by Soul Edge.

"I think the squirt is right." Cassandra agreed with Talim. "Link isn't affected by Soul Edge. His eyes would show."

"You're right." Taki finally agreed. She had taken longer than the two young females to examine Link, for she was older and much more experienced in combat than them. She would be the hardest to fool if Link had been taken over.

"I don't think our meeting was a coincidence." Cassandra finally admitted. "I think the gods of Olympus led us here. They wanted us all to meet up, and brought Link here because he can resist Soul Edge." She then turned to Link with that flirtatious look and winked. "Gee, I guess that means we were destined to meet, Hero Boy."

Link turned his head away form Cassandra. He seemed to be shy around her. Talim, on the other hand, gritted her teeth and gripped her weapons tightly, using every bit of restraint that she could muster. Taki instantly recognized the hostility between the two young women and broke it up.

"All right, that's enough." She said, looking at Cassandra sternly. "I suggest we get some rest. It is late and I'm sure we'll need to get up early in the morning. Get some rest."

"Someone will need to take watch though, just in case we're ambushed." Cassandra reminded.

"Agreed." I'll take the first rest." Taki announced. "I'll wake one of you three when it is your turn."

"Right." Talim nodded. She and Cassandra unpacked their sleeping bags from their backpacks, and began to rest. Link, on the other hand, leaned against the nearest rock and began to play his ocarina.

"Link, sleep." Taki pointed to Cassandra and Talim, indicating what she wanted him to do.

Link stopped playing and nodded. He knew what the word 'sleep' meant. However, Taki didn't realize that it was of custom for him to play his ocarina before he went to bed. It relaxed him. Ignoring Taki's orders, the young elf continued to play his ocarina. It was a very peaceful song and quiet song, a perfect fit before going to bed.

Talim was used to hearing Link play his ocarina as she fell asleep and let the music consume her as she drifted off. Cassandra watched Link intently as he played his ocarina. Not only was the elf nice to look at, but the music was so relaxing and she enjoyed watching him play. Soon the magic of the music took its effect on her and she was fast asleep as well. Taki also watched Link very intently, but for a different reason. She could sense the magic coming from the ocarina as Link played it, and she was leery of it. She new of magic and had studied it. However, she had never known about anything like Link existed, or that music itself could be magical.

Like Talim, Taki had several questions for Link about his origins, but Taki was interested in the elf for different reasons than Talim and Cassandra. She agreed he was very handsome, but she was mature enough to not let that take over her. She had already seen some of his magic, and knew that it was the key to destroying Soul Edge. However, she had to know exactly where he came from and what he was capable of, just in case there were unknown threats.

Link finally stopped his playing and gazed back at the ninja, knowing full well that her eyes were on him. It was really getting old how everyone stared at him as if he was some sort of freak.

"Sleep." Taki instructed once more, becoming a little more assertive.

Once again the elf nodded, but this time it was in agreement. Link pulled out a sleeping bag from his bag and laid down, as Taki stood watch over them all.

**Hi Readers, thanks for reading. Please let me know what you think of Cassandra and Taki's character so far. Oh, and please notice that Cassandra is wearing her green alternate outfit from Soul Calibur II. I would also like to let you know that some of the characters do know their critical finishers from Soul Calibur IV as you've already seen. Until next time. **


	7. Chapter 6 The Gathering

Ch. The Gathering

A young man awoke deep within the forest. He had long blond hair and blue eyes, very much like Link. However, his hair was slightly longer than Link's. However, this man was human. He dressed in shining silver armor from head to toe; much like a knight of noble birth would be dressed. He had also draped a fine red cape across his back. The man was covered in blood, and lying next to him was the same blade that Nightmare had used against Link.

"No, not again." The man exhorted, looking at his bloody clothes and sword. "Damn you, Soul Edge." The man cursed at his sword as he picked it up.

"You need not worry; you didn't kill anyone _this time_." A person announced from behind the knight, emphasizing the words, "This time."

The knight spun around to see mysterious character standing behind him. He was dressed in a black robe that covered most of his slender body. He had red eyes and blond hair.

"Who are you?" The Knight holding Nightmare's sword asked the black cloaked figure.

"It is not proper to demand a name before you have provided your own." The cloaked figure retorted.

"If that is what you wish. I am Siegfried Schtauffen of the one holy land, Rome, and you?"

"I am Sheik, of the Sheikah." The cloaked figure announced. "Do tell, Sir. Siegfried, what is that blade that you hold?"

"This?" Siegfried looked at the blade, trying to keep a straight face. "This is nothing."

Before Siegfried could react, Sheik drew his blade and pointed it at the knight.

"Do not lie to me. I can see the truth in your eyes. I chose not to kill you, despite the evil I sense around you." Sheik warned. "However, if you choose not to cooperate with me, I will send both you and the daemon I sense inside of you to Hell."

Siegfried searched the red eyes of the man glaring at him. He wasn't bluffing. Yet, how he knew so much about Siegfried was a mystery. Stories of Nightmare were told all around Europe and Asia, yet no one to his knowledge knew who he really was. How did this character know?

"Very well. What do you want to know?" Siegfried asked.

"Everything. Start from the beginning and end when you meet the elf boy."

"It's going to be a long story." Siegfried stated.

"I have nothing but time." Sheik responded, sitting down, crossing his legs as if in meditation.

"Very well. The sword I hold is known as Soul Edge. It is a blade of pure destruction and has a mind of its own. When I was young, I went on a quest to find Soul Edge, believing it led to the murder of my father. When I found this cursed blade, it took over my body, turning me into the Azure Knight, or Nightmare. In this form, I was a mad daemon, killing innocents and collecting their souls in Soul Edge so that it would become stronger. Many warriors tried to stop me, some to protect this loved ones, others because they wanted Soul Edge for themselves. However, none succeeded, until I met three warriors who were much stronger than any I had faced before. They defeated my followers and finally defeated me, using the holy blade, Soul Calibur. When I was defeated, I regained my senses temporarily. Soul Calibur had weakened Soul Edge. Despite the fact that Soul Edge was damaged, its possession still would not leave me. It continued to possess me during my sleep. I could not fight it. I tried to stay awake all the time, but that only proved futile, since no human is capable of such of a feat. This brings us to now. I wish only to redeem myself for the sins I have committed. However, if I fall asleep, Soul Edge will take over me once again. It appears Soul Edge has been damaged last night when I collapsed from exhaustion. I feel remorse for the young warrior that it went after last night, even though I don't remember anything."

"As I already said, you didn't kill anyone last night. You were stopped by another warrior."

"Who?" Siegfried asked.

"An elf warrior." Sheik explained. It was better that Siegfried didn't know the whole story. "Tell me, if that blade is so evil, why not just throw in into the ocean and be rid of it?"

"This blade is bound to me. Even if I did dispose of the blade, I would never truly be rid of it. There is also the risk that someone else might find it. If that were to happen, I would be free from this blade, but another person would become its new host."

"Very well. What we need to do is destroy that blade once and for all." Sheik stood up with his back to Siegfried. He put a hand to his chin to think of a plan. "I can't bring you to the elf at the moment, so we'll have to find another way to destroy the blade. You mentioned a holy blade called Soul Calibur." Sheik turned to look at Siegfried.

"Yes, I did." Siegfried pulled out another blade. This blade appeared to be made of crystals, but the crystals didn't glisten as crystals normally do. The crystals were a dreary and dull grey color. There was a large hole in the middle where the hilt of the sword met the blade, as if something that belonged there was missing. Sheik touched the blade. He was skilled in sensing magic, but when he touched this blade, he felt nothing. It was just an ordinary blade.

"It has lost all power." Sheik stated, standing back up.

"I know." Siegfried replied.

"Is there any way we can restore the magic in it?"

"If there is, it will be in the Ming Empire." Siegfried explained. "The original wielder of that blade, Xianghua, may be able to help. There is also a monk by the name of Kilik. They were the two warriors who defeated me."

"How long would it take us to reach there?"

Siegfried couldn't help laughing at Sheik's question. "Why, it's on the other side of the continent. We'd never reach our destination."

"What do you suggest then?"

"The quickest way to get there would be by ship. The next town is only a couple of days away. We would need money though."

"You lead the way; I'll take care of the rest."

"It's not a wise decision for me to come with you." Siegfried argued in a saddened voice. "As I told you before, I become a monster at night who wouldn't think twice before killing you."

"You need not worry about Soul Edge." Sheik replied without turning to face Siegfried. "It's been greatly weakened and I will be able to defeat it if it tries to take over your body again. Besides, you know this land better than I do. I need a guide and you're the only person who can help. You said you wanted to make amends for your sins, did you not?"

Sheik's last words touched Siegfried the most. He did want to make amends for his sins. He blamed himself for what Soul Edge had done, not to mention the other sins he had committed without the help of Soul Edge. He was also curious about the elf that had defeated Nightmare and damaged Soul Edge so greatly in the battle. Siegfried could tell that Sheik wasn't going to say much, but perhaps joining Sheik's journey would solve his mysteries and problems.

"Very well." Siegfried agreed.

Siegfried and Sheik continued their travels as they arrived to a town where several boats were loading. The town was simple loading station for ships and cargo. Several ports surrounded the town, extending into the ocean, and sailors ran around busily loading up cargo or doing some other choir.

Sheik and Siegfried continued to look a look out for any sailor that seemed worthy of their voyage. One sailor seemed to seem to catch the eyes of both Sheik and Siegfried instantaneously.

For one thing, this sailor stuck out like a sore thumb. Most of the sailors in this town had similar characteristics to Siegfried such as far as skin tone. This man's skin had a different tint to it, a little darker. Also, his face was shaped much differently than the people around him. He was clearly a foreigner. The man was dressed similar to how a pirate captain would be, in his white baggy pants and vest that hung open to reveal the man's muscular chest. The man had decorative shoulder and kneepads they seemed to be made of silver.

The man was sitting at a round wooden table, with other well-dressed sailors, playing a simple game of cards. They were obviously all captains in the fact that they were better dressed than most of the sailors in town and would occasionally turn and bark some orders at another sailor passing by.

"I'm terribly sorry, my dear fellows." The foreign looking man announced. "But I'm afraid you just lost this game."

The man laid his cards, showing it to the captains. All of the captains gasped at what he had won. The man then grabbed what appeared to be a large stack of money in the middle of the table.

"What? Why, you cheating Japanese punk!" One of the captains yelled, jumping up from the table and drawing his sword.

"Now, now my dear fellows, you can't be sore losers." The Japanese man spoke. "Just because you stink at a game of cards doesn't mean you can accuse me of cheating."

The other two captains stood up and drew their blades and charged the Japanese man. Instead of drawing his own blade, the man grabbed nunchaku and easily disarmed the three captains and kicked them into a table.

Sheik saw the man's skill and was rather impressed.

"Maxi." Siegfried whispered under his breath.

"You know him?" Sheik asked.

"He was one of the three original warriors that defeated me. He was responsible for defeating the golem, Astaroth, one of my powerful allies when I was Nightmare."

"Sound like we've found our man." Sheik announced, approaching Maxi. "So, you are the legendary Maxi that I've heard so much about." Maxi turned to see the mysterious figure speaking to him. "I am Sheik. I have to say, I'm impressed by your skills. Don't think I've seen someone wield a nunchaku like that in a while. However, when you defeat an opponent, it's often safe to make sure they stay down."

With lightning speed, a whip shot out of Sheik's cloak, and wrapped around one of the captains who had risen to attack Maxi from behind. The captain was thrown back on the ground. The whip unwrapped itself from the captain and recoiled back into the mysterious figure's cloak.

"Thank you, stranger." Maxi thanked Sheik. "Tell me, is there any way I can repay you?"

"Why yes, there is." Sheik responded to the pirate. "My dear friend, Siegfried, and I are on a quest and we need voyage to Ming Empire, if you would be interested."

"Sorry, but I'm not overly interested in taking passengers aboard my ship."

"Are you sure about that?" Sheik pushed. "I can guarantee you riches beyond your imagination. Fame, glory, whatever your heart desires."

"You promise a lot for someone who chooses to remain hidden." Maxi retorted. "As tempting as your offer is, I really must decline. I'm on a mission right now and I can't be side tracked."

"Oh really, please do tell. Perhaps we can help each other than."

"You may think it's a little crazy."

"Try me."

"Very well. I'm on a mission to destroy the evil golem, Astaroth."

Sheik quickly moved so that his arm was around Maxi's shoulder, as he whispered into the pirate's ear. "Tell me, would that have anything to do with Soul Edge."

"How do you know that?" Maxi guessed.

Sheik nearly smiled. He had Maxi right where he wanted him. Using what little knowledge he had about Maxi, he was able to turn the tables on the Japanese pirate, and have him learning for information.

"I'm sure we could help each other quite considerably. Of course, you'd need to be willing to take on passengers."

Maxi began to think about Sheik's offer. The mysterious figure obviously knew more than he let on. He hadn't intended on working with others during this adventure. Many lives had already been lost due to that monstrous golem and he didn't want to see anyone else killed. However, he knew the Sheik's knowledge of Soul edge could be dangerous. Perhaps he'd know where to find Astaroth. In any case, Maxi preferred to keep an eye on Sheik.

"Very well, I agree to your terms." Maxi agreed with a sigh. He had been beat. "However, don't think that you're going to be living in comfy conditions aboard my ship. You'll be working under my command as part of my crew. Got it?"

"Good. Lead the way." Sheik answered.

Siegfried and Sheik were forced to share a room on Maxi's ship that night. They had spent the day preparing to sail. They had to keep an eye out for the captains Maxi had beat in cards. They seemed to have a vendetta against Maxi now. However, Maxi and his crew had luckily set sail without any trouble from the captains and were now on their way to the Ming Empire. Maxi wasn't difficult to get along with, as long orders were obeyed. Sheik was more than willing to follow orders since Maxi was providing the transportation. However, Siegfried often grumbled about working as a simple sailor, and doing such demeaning work, like swabbing a deck.

"Just remember our goals." Sheik would often remind him.

Sheik sat on his bed, which was on the other side of the room from Siegfried. Their cabins were small on the ship: a bed on each side of the room, and a single dresser separating them, making the room very small for two people to stay in.

The blond knight was fast asleep as Sheik played a mystic song on his harp. The song was magical and kept Soul Edge from attempting to take over Siegfried's body. Sheik remembered the first night that he had done this for Siegfried.

_Siegfried had refused to go to sleep, claiming that Soul Edge would take over the night, causing him to go on a murderous rampage. _

"_I already told you, you need not worry about Soul Edge. I can deal with it myself." Sheik assured. _

"_You don't understand." Siegfried argued. "As Nightmare, I'm a monster. There is no way…" _

_Sheik didn't even wait for Siegfried to finish his sentence. He took out his harp and began to play a mysterious melody. The melody was sad yet soothing, and seemed to relax Siegfried. Siegfried could sense Soul Edge weakening from the song, almost as if the song itself was cleansing Siegfried of the evil blade's influence. _

"_This is known as the Song of Healing." Sheik explained. "It has mystical powers and can heal the tattered spirit. As you may notice, it can cleanse Soul Edge's influence over you. Each night, I will play this song for you, and Soul Edge will be powerless. Now go to sleep before I'm forced to play a song that has mystical powers to do that as well." _

_Even though Siegfried could sense Soul Edge's influence dormant, he was still reluctant to sleep, knowing full well that if he turned into Nightmare, his new companion would be the first to die. Nonetheless, Siegfried eventually fell asleep, listening to the song of healing as he began doze off. _

_Every night, Sheik would play the Song of Healing for Siegfried, disabling Soul Edge's influence over the blond knight during the night. The song wasn't a permanent solution, for if Sheik would have skipped just one night of playing his song, Soul Edge would gain enough strength to turn Siegfried into Nightmare. Sheik already sensed that, and made sure to never miss a night of playing his melody. _

_Siegfried was internally grateful towards Sheik. He had slept better those past nights than he had in a long time, without worrying about the cursed blade. _

"_Soul Edge despises you." Siegfried informed Sheik on night before he went to bed. _

"_How do you know that?" Sheik asked. _

"_This blade and I are linked. We can sense each others feelings and emotions. We can even talk to each other telepathically if we so choose. I find it only fair to warn you that if Soul Edge ever manages to take control of me, you will be the first it goes after, for you have greatly slowed down its plans." _

"_What plans?" Sheik asked. _

"_I don't know. It won't share them with me, and if I try to pry it from this sword's mind, it would have a chance to enter mine, taking control of my body. Your song wouldn't be able to stop it." Siegfried replied. "My guess is that Soul Edge plans to gather more spirits and its remaining shards so that it can become whole and take over this world, plunging it into darkness." _

"_Thank you for your warning. You should get some rest. I will play my song for you to make sure that Soul Edge can't take you over tonight. I'm not overly worried about that sword at the moment. Between its defeat against the elf, and the playing of my song, it is practically powerless at the moment." Sheik assured. _

_It was true. Sheik wasn't overly worried about that sword taking over Siegfried. However, what this blade was planning did bother Sheik. Siegfried said that Sheik was delaying this sword's plans. That meant the blade must have a back up plan to accomplish its goals. That, or Siegfried was wrong about the blade's plans._

Sheik was still lost in thought from his past day experiences with Siegfried when Maxi walked by. The cabin door was wide open so the pirate peered in.

"Still awake?" The Japanese pirate asked. "You'd better get some sleep. I expect a full day's work out of you and Siegfried."

Sheik stood gazing at the sea. They would soon reach their destination and he grew restless. They had been on the ship for some time now, and Maxi made sure to keep him and Siegfried busy with work. Sheik peered off in the distance and noticed that they were coming towards land. Maxi approached Sheik from the back.

"That city over there is Peking of the Ming Empire. We'll dock soon." Maxi announced.

"We are looking for the warriors Xianghua and Kilik. Have you heard of them?" Siegfried asked, as he tied some rope for the sail.

"Can't say I have." Maxi replied as he walked away from the two and headed back to his cabin.

"He's lying." Siegfried whispered to Sheik, when he knew that Maxi was out of ear shot. There was a hint of surprise in his voice.

"No, he isn't." Sheik argued.

"But I know he fought alongside the warriors we seek." Siegfried argued.

"That may be true, but I know he wasn't lying when he said that he hadn't ever heard of them. If he had been, I would have known."

Sheik watched the town they approached slowly grow larger as they neared it. Once they landed, Maxi lowered the anchor and the three warriors began to explore the city. Sheik looked around, carefully examining the town and its people. The rooftops were made of strange material and shaped differently than what he was accustomed too. The people looked a lot like Maxi, yet some of their features were different.

"Where to?" Sheik asked Siegfried.

"I'm not overly sure." Siegfried admitted. "If I remember correctly, Kilik was a monk, so we may be able to find him at a temple somewhere. However, I'm afraid I don't know my way around this city at all. Maxi, would you happen to know where the nearest temple is located?"

"Can't say I do." Maxi responded.

"Well, we'll just have to use intuition." Sheik spoke.

Suddenly, the ground shook underneath the three warriors' feet and they heard a large explosion nearby. When they turned to where the sound came from, they saw smoke rising from the middle of the town.

"Well, I guess that's a good place to start." Maxi indicated.

"Come on!" Sheik ordered.

Sheik jumped onto a rooftop and began to make his way towards the smoke.

The horror was unimaginable. Buildings were crumbled and people laid on dead the ground.

"Please no!" An old man yelled. He was cornered and staring into the face of a monster.

But it was too late. With a single swing of a stone ax the size of a person, the man was crushed.

"Give me Soul Edge!" The monster yelled in a deep and loud voice. The monster looked somewhat like a human, but most of his skin seemed to be made of molten rock. He was large and muscular, his teeth were razor sharp, and his eyes released an evil glow.

Several warriors who appeared to be samurai charged towards the monster and attacked. They were quickly killed with a single swing of the massive creature's ax. The creature continued his reign of terror as he walked down a path, smashing through a brick wall as if it was glass.

A group of guards waited for the monster at the end of the gravel road, and each of them held a rifle.

"Fire!" Their captain yelled.

The men began to fire at the monster. The explosion of bullets caused the monster to stumble backwards. However, the men's rifles didn't seem to be doing any good against the monster, as it only growled angrily and continued his destructive path towards the riflemen. The riflemen continued firing at the monster, but it was in vain.

"Retreat!" The captain yelled. The monster killed the guards with his massive ax. Only one guard remained. He drew his sword and got in a fighting position, knowing that this was the end of him.

"Stay back, monster. I'm warning you." The guard quivered.

The monster was about to finish the man off when he was interrupted when a female warrior leapt from the building and slashed at the monster. The monster released a terrifying scream of pain, and turned to see his attacker.

The attacker was a young woman with a slender and attractive build, beautiful dark eyes, and long black hair. She was dressed in lightweight red Chinese armor that protected her body from minor damage but didn't weigh her down, allowing speed and stealth. In her hand, she carried a Chinese sword.

The guard took this chance to run, and as he did, he nearly bumped into another warrior holding a bow staff. He was a young man, in his early twenties, and had a strong build. He had black hair and was dressed in a monk's robe with armor over the robe. The armor was red and covered his chest. He also wore armored cloves and boots.

"So Astaroth, Maxi didn't defeat you after all." The man spoke in a sad and angry voice.

"Where is he?" The girl demanded from the monster.

"Oh him?" The golem laughed malevolently. "The last I heard is that he died, had a little fall."

"Liar!" The girl shrieked. "It can't be true!"

"His death will not be in vain!" The young man dressed in monk's clothing yelled, charging towards Astaroth.

The monk charged towards the golem with his bow staff, but the golem caught the staff, picked up the monk, and flung him through the air. The monk hit the side of a building with a loud thud as the walls cracked from the impact.

"Kilik!" The female warrior shrieked, as she charged towards Astaroth with her sword. The girl slashed at the golem's chest, getting a clean hit, but the golem didn't even flinch from the attack. The blade had scratched the stone skin of the golem, but didn't seem to have done any damage.

"What!?" The girl gasped.

"Pathetic insect." The golem growled in an almost laughter like tone. The golem swung his massive ax, but the quick young female warrior dodged the blow by ducking. The golem wasn't very fast, but his strength more than made up for his lack of speed.

Once again, the female tried to slash at the golem, but this time the golem caught the sword with his hand and cracked it in two. The girl stumbled back, holding what used to be the handle of her blade.

"My sword…" The girl gasped, wide eyed. She was shaking all over. However, it was hard to tell whether her trembling was out of fear or anger. Before the girl could regain her senses, the monster grabbed her by the throat, heaving up her off the ground and pressing her against the wall. Her feet dangled and the girl tried to gasp for air. The monster only squeezed tighter.

"I will enjoy grinding your bones into dust." The golem said in a laughing snarl.

"Xianghua." Kilik moaned getting to his feet. Several bones in his body were broken from Astaroth, but the monk couldn't watch his best friend die while he did nothing. He knew he had to find the strength to continue fighting.

Kilik charged towards the giant monster as his bow staff glowed an eerie blue. Kilik rammed his staff into the golem's rocky back, piercing his rocky skin and drawing blood.

The golem released an angry roar and thrashed about. He threw the unconscious Xianghua away from him, and turned his attention to Kilik, which he now considered a much more worthy prey.

Kilik jumped on to the monsters, holding onto for dear life as he once again smashed his bow staff into the monster's back. Astaroth tried to grab the monk, but was unsuccessful due to his own great size. Astaroth though rammed his back into a building, smothering Kilik until he would let go.

The young monk continued to try to press and attack. However, as Astaroth smashed his back against another stone wall, the monk finally lost conscious and fell to the ground.

"If you are so willing to die, let me grant you your wish." The golem growled as he raised his massive stone ax to finish the young monk off.

"Astaroth!" Maxi yelled as he jumped down from a building and began a rapid attack on the giant stone monster with his nunchaku. He finished his onslaught with a powerful smack in the golem's face, knocking he creature backwards.

"Take that, you freak!" The pirate yelled, thinking the monster was down defeated.

Maxi gasped when he saw the monster simply cracked his own neck muscles and growled at Maxi. No matter how powerful Maxi's attacks were, they weren't able to smash through the monster's thick stone skin.

"What? How the hell?" Maxi swore.

"You pathetic insect." The overpowering golem growled.

Maxi ran toward the golem swinging his nunchaku like a made man. He dodged a blow from Astaroth's giant stone ax and smacked him again with his weapon, only for it to have no effect on the monster.

"Damn it! Nothing seems to affect this guy." The sailor growled. "Alright, time to use my new secret technique."

Maxi jumped away from Astaroth, dodging another swing from the creature's ax and putting some distance between them. Maxi then rushed towards the monster at full force and leapt in the air, aiming a high jump kicked in the direction of the creature's chest.

"Rising Dragon of the Zodiac Kick!" Maxi yelled.

Flames appeared around the Japanese man's leg as he kicked he monster with a force greater than a human was thought to have. The large golem was knocked off his feet and he smashed into a wall of a building, causing to crumble.

"Yeah! You like that, freak?"Maxi shouted.

Astaroth rose to his feet, leaning on his ax for support. He hadn't been this angry since the last encounter with Maxi. Maxi's blow had even left a crack on his stone chest, running down his chest and to his stomach.

Maxi returned to his fighting position. However, there was now a hint of fear in his eyes. Maxi had relied on that attack to finish off Asaroth and he didn't know if he could successfully perform that attack a second time. It didn't matter though, he was going to destroy his monster or be killed trying to do so.

Siegfried arrived at the fight scene with Sheik. Siegfried's armor was not designed for speed, and Sheik had chosen to stay with Siegfried instead of Maxi

Siegfried drew Soul Calibur and slashed at Astaroth. Siegfried charged towards Astaroth though, giving the slow golem a chance to block the attack. Siegfried dodged the golem's swing and jumped away from the monster.

"You!" Astaroth growled.

"Me." Siegfried responded in a bitter tone.

"You have Soul Edge. Give it here, little man!" Astaroth roared.

"You want it? Try to take." Siegfried challenged.

Siegfried knew that he couldn't defeat this monster but he couldn't let Soul Edge fall into in to the wrong hands, especially a monster like this.

By this time, Kilik and Xianghua had regained consciousness and stared at the three warriors facing the monster. They didn't know what to think of them, for one was as unique as another. A knight with blond hair, and mysterious black-cloaked figure, and…Maxi! Kilik and Xianghua's eyes widened in both surprise and glee when they saw their friend was alive.

"Siegfried, you don't stand a chance against him." Sheik spoke for the first time sense the fight began. "Allow me."

Sheik pulled out a golden longbow and arrow, preparing to fire.

"You pathetic arrow won't have any effect on me." Astaroth informed with another mighty growl.

"We shall see." Sheik responded, pulling back the string of the bow. Gold lightning danced around the bow until a shining gold arrow formed, made from the pure light itself. Sheik released the arrow towards his opponent, and it soared through the air. Astaroth didn't even bother to avoid the attack, thinking that it wouldn't hurt him. However, the force behind the arrow was like no other human as it easily tore through the golem's body. The arrow burst into sparks of light as it traveled through its opponent. Gold lightning appeared around Asaroth's body, paralyzing the golem and weakening he monster so that he couldn't move a muscle.

"Take him down, now!" Sheik ordered

Kilik, Maxi, and Siegfried all attacked Astaroth at once. Xianghua would have joined in the fight if her blade hadn't been destroyed. The three warriors were more than enough for the monster as they all struck the large golem instantaneously with their weapons.

Astaroth released one final roar of pain as the attacks destroyed his stone skin and cut into his exposed flesh. Blood dripped from the deep wounds of the monster as he fell to the ground nearly dead now from the barrage of attacks. Maxi was about to finish he massive beast off when it vanished in a burst of blue flames.

"What happened?" Siegfried asked. He had never seen a trick like that used.

"Either he died or escaped." Sheik explained. He was very accustomed to magic, as he had just demonstrated by weakening Astaroth more in one shot that the rest of the warriors could have done during entire battle.

"Maxi!" Xianghua cried as she ran towards her friend and practically jumped into his arms as she hugged him around the neck.

"Wow, if I knew it would be this easy to find a cute girl in this town, I would have arrived sooner." The Japanese pirate flirted.

"Oh Maxi, you're always such a tease." Xianghua giggled as she gave her friend a playful shove.

"How in the world do you know my name?" Maxi asked.

"Maxi, stop kidding." Xianghua put her hands to her hips and spoke more seriously.

"Look cutie, do I look like I'm kidding?" Maxi asked.

"But…"

Xianghua's sentence was cut short by Sheik, who shook his head no. The young Chinese woman looked like she was about to cry. Kilik walked over and put his hand on her shoulder to comfort.

"His memories of you are sealed away." Sheik whispered in the Chinese girl's ears. Xianghua stared at the strangely cloaked figure with red eyes and almost jumped at the sight of him.

"Listen, my friend." Sheik spoke to them now so that everyone could hear. "Siegfried and I are on a mission to destroy the daemon blade, Soul Edge."

"What? That's impossible! Xianghua and I destroyed that blade long ago."

"You only shattered the blade. It still exists, but in a dormant form. It can harm anyone directly right now, but the people who are after it will."

"So Soul Edge is still out there." Kilik said, running the thought through his head. He was having trouble believing it.

"Yes, and that would mean Inferno is still out there as well." Sheik spoke.

"Inferno. You mean the daemon that possesses the blade?" Xianghua gasped.

"Yes." Sheik responded.

"Then I'm in." The Chinese girl responded. "It was supposed to be my duty to destroy that blade and I failed. What about you, Kilik?"

"Well, I'm not exactly going to let you go out and do this by yourself, Xianghua. I'm coming with." The monk responded.

"Great, let's go then." Maxi announced.

Xianghua and Kilik were led to Maxi's ship to board. It wasn't hard to draft Kilik or Xianghua when Sheik told them they were out to destroy Soul Edge. The two were almost too eager to join a mission in which they didn't even realize they had previously failed. Sheik made sure to leave out all parts involving Siegfried though, something the knight was grateful for.

It really didn't matter what mission Sheik would have asked them to join with. The presence of Maxi made them want to join their old friend on a new journey, even if he didn't seem to remember them.

"Hurry up, mates! This ship isn't going to wait!" Maxi yelled as he boarded the ship with Kilik, Xianghua, Sheik, and Siegfried in tow.

"He seems enthused." Siegfried stated, noticing Maxi's desire to leave port.

"It is possible that just seeing his old friends is waking something inside of him." Sheik explained. "Plus, he is driven by revenge. Revenge is a powerful tool. It can give men strength and determination that none would have otherwise. However, the cost of such is that you will eventually be consumed by your own hate and lust."

"You seem to know a lot about that subject." Siegfried commented, once again noticing Sheik's wisdom.

"I've been around." Sheik responded.

"I still can't believe he forgot us." Xianghua voice choked as she held back her tears. "After all we have been through, everything we have done."

"I know, Xianghua." Kilik responded. He felt just as hurt as Xianghua, maybe more so, since he and Maxi had been best friends and probably closer to each other than Xianghua and Maxi.

"He hasn't forgotten you; his memories of you two have merely been sealed away." Sheik explained.

"How do you know that?" Xianghua asked. She had heard of such sorcery, but never thought it actually existed.

"I was trained to have the eyes of truth." Sheik explained. "I can see such things. I can see into people's souls and know their true intentions. I can sense his memories deep inside his subconscious. Just have faith and let those memories come out naturally. When you try to rush….

"Right." Xianghua nodded in agreement. The Chinese girl wasn't happy about the current situation, but she was going to have to accept it whether she wanted to or not.

As soon as everyone was on board the ship, they launched, traveling with the wind.

"Where do we go now?" Siegfried asked Sheik.

"Currently, where ever the wind takes us." The mysterious figure responded.

**Hi readers. Thanks for reading these long chapters. In this story Astaroth will always appear as he does in Soul Calibur IV. He is also stronger and slightly larger than he is in the games. Kilik's armor was is alternate costume from Soul Calibur IV and his monk's robe is from his alternate costume from Soul Calibur III. Xianghua's armor is based off her alternate costume for Soul Calibur IV (Assuming that's armor. I'm not sure.) **


	8. Chapter 7 A Fiery Teen

I do not own Soul Calibur or Zelda. Zelda is owned by Nintendo, and Soul Calibur is owned by Namco Bandai Games

Ch. 7 Fiery teens.

Link awoke early that morning to the sounds of Taki and Cassandra arguing about something.

"I told you to drop it. I'm here to stay." Cassandra barked in a hushed tone so she wouldn't wake anyone else up.

"You're not ready. I saw the way you and the girl handled yourselves in battle. If it hadn't been for Link and I, you two would have been killed."

"Hey, they outnumbered us." Cassandra shot back. "If they would have fought with honor and if they hadn't attacked at once, even that little punk, Talim, could have taken a couple down."

"If you think fighting all those assassins at once was bad, you haven't seen anything yet."

Link didn't understand much of the argument since he was still learning the language, and it didn't seem to concern him. As the two continued to argue, the elf reached into his bag and took out his fishing pole and ocarina. He buckled his sword over his back and headed towards the nearest stream to fish. Taki and Cassandra were too busy arguing to notice he left.

"My sister sent you, didn't she?" Cassandra accused Taki. "Well, you can tell her not to worry about me and that everything is under control. I will be home soon right after Soul Edge is destroyed."

"I'm not here because your sister sent me. I ran into you by coincidence. I could tell that you were Sophitia's sister the moment I saw you. When you told me about your sister, and how you took that piece of Soul Edge, I knew it was true. Nonetheless, you should still go back to Athens, and take Talim with you. She is much too young and inexperienced to handle what is ahead."

"Oh, now I see where you're going." Cassandra pointed a finger accusingly at Taki. "You want to be alone with Link. So, that is your kind of guy."

"Cassandra…how dare you…" Taki hissed, but she was interrupted by the sound of an ocarina in the distance. Both women turned to see Link missing and Talim beginning to wake up.

"Talim, where is Link?" Taki asked.

"Beats me." Talim answered. "He tends to wander off by himself a lot. Don't worry though he'll be back. He's probably just fishing, and if you need to find him, just follow the music."

"He really shouldn't run off like that." Taki informed. "It's too dangerous for a lone warrior to be out alone, no matter how powerful he may be."

"I'll go get him." Cassandra volunteered, as she began to follow her ear towards the music.

"Not without me." Talim interrupted, chasing after the other female. There was no way she'd ever let Cassandra be alone with Link.

As Taki watched the two girls disappear, she sensed movement from behind her. With lightning speed, she spun around and stabbed one of the same assassins they had defeated last night. For some reason, he had survived the battle. However, he would not survive another battle against Taki, as the female ninja withdrew her blade from the assassin's chest. As the assassin fell to the ground dead, Taki turned and noticed several more of the assassins rising to their feet. Taki didn't waste any time. She charged towards the assassins and attacked them in a fury, making sure not a single one of them remained standing. Her job completed, she examined the dead corpses to find out why and how they had survived their original encounter.

She could tell which warrior these assassins encountered by the types of wounds on them. Interesting enough, the assassins that Taki had just killed were the ones Link had fought, although some of them appeared to have wounds from Talim as well.

'Link was more than capable of defeating these warriors.' The ninja murmured. 'So, why are they alive? If he doesn't have the will to kill, then he is going to run into problems in this world.'

Meanwhile, the two warriors continued to search for Link. After traveling for several minutes, the music of the ocarina was still only faint and the elf was nowhere close.

"Boy, the guy must be able to move fast. You know, Talim, you should really keep a better watch over him."

"Hey, what is that supposed to mean? You were the one who was supposed to be on watch. I'm surprise you missed him by the way you constantly gawk at him." Talim hissed in reply.

"Hey, not my fault he's nice to look at, and like you don't do the same?" Cassandra remarked with a taunting grin on her face.

Talim looked down at her feet and blushed, hoping Cassandra didn't see. However, Cassandra wore a triumphant grin on her face.

"That's what I thought." Cassandra remarked. "Listen, if you want to do yourself a favor, I'd suggest you don't get too close to Link."

"Oh, and why not?"

"Please, you're just a little girl. Link, on the other hand, is a man, and belongs with a woman like myself. After all, we're both great warriors. You, on the other hand, barely know how to wield a weapon."

"Take that back!" Talim shouted, reaching for her elbow pads.

"And why should I? Do you want to make something of it?"

Talim was tired of Cassandra and her taunts. How dare she speak to her that way? Talim had done nothing but help Link, while Cassandra constantly made the elf feel uncomfortable. She had been holding back her anger all this time, but now after those last comments, she was about to burst.

Talim lunged at Cassandra. Cassandra drew her own sword and shield in defense. The fight was meant to be a battle of blades, but quickly turned out to be more of a wrestling match. The two female warriors tackled each other to the ground, biting and kicking at each other as they rolled around. Both of them fought like daemons, not wanting the other to get the upper hand. However, Cassandra, was both stronger and a more skilled warrior than Talim, and she didn't have much trouble pinning the girl to the ground. Talim struggled to get away from Cassandra, but couldn't. All the young girl could do was glare at her conqueror.

"Ha! See what I mean? You don't know the first thing about fighting." Cassandra mocked.

A strong hand grabbed Cassandra by the back of the shoulder and pulled her off of Talim.

"That's quite enough." A teenage male's voice announced.

Talim rose to her feet. The voice sounded familiar to her. She turned to face who had helped her, and she her eyes widened. There stood a young Korean man approximately the age of eighteen. He had wild red hair and a strong build. His pants were baggy and he wore a vest instead of a shirt. Over his shoulder, he carried a large white saber, similar to what a pirate might carry.

"Why don't you fight someone your own size?" The young man challenged.

"Gladly." Cassandra responded, grabbing her sword and shield and preparing to battle the teen. The two fiery warriors blades crossed as the two were about to battle, when Talim interrupted them.

"Yun-Seong, is that you?" Talim asked. "What are you doing here?"

The teen swiped at Cassandra's chest, but the female warrior blocked the blow with her shield and jumped back.

"You know this punk?" Cassandra asked Talim.

"Yeah, he's a friend…well, sort of." The girl responded, unsure of how to describe the teen.

"Well, tell him that he should keep his hands off a lady unless he wants to get a thrashing." Cassandra informed.

"Yeah, right." Yun-Seong snorted, not seeing Cassandra as a threat. "Man, Talim, do you know how hard it is to track you down. I've been following your trail for a month now, but you just keep moving. I was lucky to catch up with you."

"What is it that you need of me?" Talim asked the teen. "This isn't about Soul Edge, is it?"

"Well, actually it is." Yun-Seong responded.

"Yun-Seong, I've told you already. That blade is evil."

"I know, I know." Yun-Seong grumbled.

"I thought you two were going to find Link?" Taki asked, walking up to the three young warriors.

"Sorry, we got sidetracked." Talim apologized.

"Very well. Who is this?" Taki pointed to Yun-Seong.

"Oh, this is Yun-Seong." Talim introduced. "He's after Soul Edge too."

"Go home, boy. That blade is dangerous." Taki ordered.

"Hey, you can't tell me what to do." Yun-Seong barked.

Link walked out of the woods, holding fish stringed onto his fishing pole. He stared at Yun-Seong with his intense blue eyes. They weren't the nice, innocent eyes that he had when with Talim, but the same eyes he had when battling Nightmare.

"What's your problem?" Yun-Seong asked. "Who's the pointy*eared weirdo dressed in green? Do you want to fight? That can be arranged."

"Soul Edge." Link spoke, holding out his hand, indicating that he wanted the other man to give him something.

"Soul Edge?" Cassandra gasped.

Taki closed her eyes and concentrated, listening to the world around her, searching for dark energies. Link's senses were keener than a wolf's for she had not sensed the presence of the dark blade. She did now though. It was weak, easy to overlook, but it was there all the same.

"You have a piece of that blade." Taki spoke, drawing the blade from her back.

"What if I do?" The teen boy challenged.

"Yun-Seong, give your piece of Soul Edge to Link. Now!" Talim ordered in a harsh voice that was nothing like Link had heard her say before.

"Not a chance." The teen responded. "I've worked too hard to collect that piece. There's no way I'm giving it up."

"So be it." The ninja warned the teen, pointing her blade at him.

"Taki, no." Link interrupted. "Me." He pointed to himself, indicating that he'd fight the teen. It was unknown why Link wanted to be the one to defeat the teen for the fragment of Soul Edge. Maybe it was because he felt it was his duty, or maybe it was because he knew that Taki would have no problem killing the young warrior, while Link would refuse to do so.

"So you do want to fight?" Yun-Seong challenged the elf. "Well, bring it on, you long-eared weirdo."

The teen pointed his blade at Link. Link didn't even move. He had already formulated a plan to defeat the young warrior and waited for his chance.

"Hey, aren't you going to attack? Come on!" Yun-Seong provoked. However, Link didn't even respond. "Fine! I'll go first."

Yun-Seong charged headfirst towards Link. Talim covered her eyes, thinking that this was going to be the end of Link, but she didn't realize that everything was going exactly how he planned. At the last moment, Link drew his blade and blocked the attack with a blink of the eye. Yun-Seong was startled by Link's great speed. It was inhumane.

Yun-Seong was much too stubborn to give up though. The young teen continued to slash at Link with his sword, who continued to block the attacks with ease. Yun-Seong tried to kick at Link, but the elf easily dodged and avoided that as well.

Everything was going according to Link's plan. The young man was fast and strong, but he wasn't fighting with his head like a true warrior. He relied on his physical capabilities, allowing a clever warrior like Link to have an advantage. Link became bored fighting Yun-Seong. He had seen what he wanted to see from the teen and decided to end the fight.

With speed no human could possess, Link rolled around Yun-Seong, dodging an attack. The elf launched into the air and performed a spin attack. Link had aimed his attack perfectly. It was not intended to hurt the other warrior, only disarm him, and it worked.

Yun-Seong twirled high in the air above the warrior's heads. Link jumped into the air, caught the blade, and then landed feet first on top of Yun-Seong, knocking the teen to the ground. Link stood with his foot on the teen's chest, forcing him to the ground. Link reached into the teen's pocket and took out small fragment of Soul Edge.

"What the hell? Haven't you ever heard of personal space?" Yun-Seong complained. He felt slightly violated and humiliated.

Link ignored the teen's whining. He didn't know or care what the teen had said, and he figured it was probably worthless gibberish. Link removed the foot from the teen's chest and allowed him to get back to his feet. He tossed the teen's sword back to him and bowed.

'_So, Link gives respect to even the most childish of opponents. He has a lot of honor, more than any man, that's for sure.'_ Taki made a mental not to herself.

"You can leave now." Taki informed the teen. "We have no desire to hurt you now that we have what we need."

"I'm not leaving." Yun-Seong argued. "Not until I get my shard back."

"I'm afraid I'm not giving you a choice." Taki informed.

Both warriors stared coolly at each other, neither willing to back down. Talim could sense another fight was about to break out. She didn't want to see anyone hurt, and she grabbed Taki by the arm.

"Taki, can I please talk to you?" The wind priestess requested.

Talim whispered in Taki's ear.

"No." Taki finally responded. "I don't feel it would be good for him to come along us."

"Taki, please trust me." The wind priestess begged. "I know what I'm talking about."

"He come." Link finally spoke up, interrupting the argument.

"You mean you agree with me?" Talim asked.

Link nodded.

"You've got to be kidding. Don't I get a say in this?" Cassandra asked.

"Nope." Talim answered quickly, happy to irritate the blond girl.

"Well, I suppose if Link wants him to come with, then I guess there isn't much we can do about it." Taki agreed reluctantly. "The name's Taki." The ninja introduced herself to Yun-Seong. "This is Link, Cassandra, and I you already met Talim." Taki pointed to each person respectively. "Welcome to the group, Yun-Seong."


	9. Chapter 8 Weapons of Old and New

I do not own Soul Calibur or Zelda. Zelda is owned by Nintendo, and Soul Calibur is owned by Namco Bandai Games

Ch. 7 Weapons of Old and New

Xianghua stood over the balcony of the ship, overlooking the seas. She had removed her armor and changed into more comfortable clothes, consisting of a pink kimono-styled shirt that seemed to sparkle in the sunlight and baggy pants. Light blue ribbons hung down and tied her hair into to pig tails. Ribbons were also wrapped around her belts, arms, and her feet, giving Xianghua the appearance of a dancer. Every man on the ship had to admit that she was one of the most beautiful women they had ever seen. Her usual perkiness and her high-pitched, almost childlike, voice made her even lovelier.

Xianghua's mind was greatly troubled though, not only by Maxi's strange amnesia, but about everything else that had occurred lately. She, Maxi, and Kilik had fought so hard to destroy Soul Edge and Inferno. Now, according to Sheik, everything had been in vain. Once again, the world was in trouble, and she was worried that without Soul Calibur, there would be nothing she could do about it. She was also worried about Kilik. He had almost died once trying to help her destroy Soul Edge. She couldn't live with herself if she saw him hurt again.

Kilik approached to comfort his friend. Even though he was often clueless about Xianghua's emotions, he could tell his friend was upset.

"Don't worry, we'll get Maxi's memory back. I promise." The young monk comforted. Kilik also had changed out of his armor. Unlike Xianghua, who seemed to have three pairs of clothes for every occasion, all he wore was a pair of baggy pants and a ragged cape that was worn like a vest without buttons.

"It's not just that." Xianghua held up her broken weapon. "This sword was one of the finest blades in our kingdom, and now it is broken. How am I supposed to help you fight if I can't even defend myself? I was close to useless in that last fight against Astaroth. Without Soul Calibur, I'm weak."

"That's not true." Kilik responded. "You're one of the best sparing partners I've ever had in my life, with or without Soul Calibur."

"A true warrior needs no weapon." Sheik added, walking up to the two young warriors. He had overheard their conversation. "I am terribly sorry, but I couldn't help but overhear." Sheik apologized. "If you don't mind, I'd like to help."

"How?" Xianghua asked.

"Simple." Sheik pulled out a blade from his cloak, causing Xianghua's eyes to widen. The blade reminded her of Soul Calibur, only it was slightly larger than a Chinese blade. The blade of the sword seemed to be made of shinning blue steel, making it appear to be made from sapphires, and the handle was also blue with a strange symbol of three golden triangles stacked together to form one.

"Is this…" Xianghua began.

"No, this is not Soul Calibur." Sheik responded, knowing exactly what Xianghua was about to ask. "This blade is known as the Magic Sword. It is an ancient blade, said to hold the spirit of the blacksmith who it. This blade can repel against evil."

"What does this symbol mean?" Xiangua asked, pointing the symbol of the Triforce.

"Legend has it is that that symbol marks the blade as being made by a mystical elf race." Sheik spoke. It wasn't a lie, but he bent the truth so he wouldn't reveal any too much information. "In fact, it was made by the same race that made Kilik's bow staff, Kali-Yuga."

"What?" Kilik asked, surprised to hear such a tale. The monks had told never shared this history and the weapon had been passed down in their temple for generations.

"How do you know that?" The monk asked suspiciously.

"I have studied ancient artifacts for a long time. I know when two are similar. And your staff definitely has similarities with this sword. It even has a similar symbol." Sheik pointed to the spot where Kilik normally held his bow staff, and there it was, the same three triangles stacked in the same way as the ones on the Magic Sword's handle.

Sheik handed the blade over to Xianghua, who swung it around to test it. The blade felt good in her hand. The only other blade that had fit her so well was Soul Calibur itself.

"That blade already has the power to repel evil." Sheik repeated. "It has magic powers that you will be able to unlock during your journey. However, before I let you have this blade, you must promise me one thing."

"What?" Xianghua asked, worried what the conditions might be to keep such a priceless blade.

"Never strike out with evil or vengeful intentions, no matter how tempting it may seem or how justifiable it may feel, you must not. The only time you should ever use this blade is for pure good."

"Sure, of course I can do that. Isn't that what being a warrior is about?" Xianghua asked.

"Yes." Sheik responded. "But trust me, such a goal is more difficult than it may originally seem. There will be times you will be tempted to strike out in anger on this journey, and you must not allow yourself to do so. If you do, you'll never be able to use this blade properly."

"Don't worry, I can do this." Xianghua responded full of confidence.

"Good. Why don't you and Kilik have some fun sparring with your weapons to get your mind off things? I'm sure your bodies need to stretch out." Sheik suggested as he walked away.

Maxi watched the two warriors spar. Both Kilik and Xianghua were rather experienced, even though they were both only in their early twenties, just a few years older than the pirate was. Even though they were best friends, the Chinese warriors fought with all their strength. Neither was willing to give in, and they were equally matched.

Maxi felt weird watching the fight. It was almost familiar, as if he has seen it many times before. He even found himself predicting what the other was going to do before they would do it. He felt even stranger when he realized his predictions were right a good percentage of the time.

Xianghua and Kilik continued their heated battle until Xianghua was finally able to get the upper hand. She pretended to strike at his shoulder, forcing the monk to block her attack. She then tripped the monk, causing him to land on his back. Before he could stand, Xianghua pounced on her opponent, pinning him to the ground. Kilik tried to get away, but Xianghua, stronger than the average woman, was able to keep him pinned.

"Tricked ya." She giggled at her defeated opponent. "I win."

"I can see that." Kilik responded. "Will you let me up now?"

"What? You don't like being pinned by a girl?" Xianghua teased.

"Why would I like being pinned at all?" Kilik asked, now a little confused.

"Oh never mind?" Xianghua sighed.

Sheik, who had come to see the last minutes of the fight, noticed a slight blush on the Chinese girl's face. However, Kilik didn't seem to notice.

Sheik walked over to Siegfried, who had also noticed Xianghua's blush and Kilik's cluelessness.

"Ah, young love." Siegfried commented to his friend, thinking Sheik was much older than he was. "Brings back old memories."

"You were in love once?" Sheik asked.

"Long time ago and that was about it."

Sheik suddenly looked up, suddenly alert. There was a large raven flying over the ship.

"Trouble." Siegfried asked, recognizing the evil bird instantly.

"You may be right." Sheik agreed. "Stay alert."

On a small, isolated island, a lone girl stood on the shore watching Maxi's ship. She was around the age of seventeen with short, messy hair that had been dyed blue, and she wore a strange tattered green outfit, as if she had just been in a fight. She had painted green and purple make up on her face. She appeared innocent, but there was something about her that was very dangerous, even to the human eye. This young girl was a killer, and she took great pride in her career choice. She had just murdered an entire village on this island, trapping their souls in the shard of Soul Edge that she held. She didn't leave a single survivor, not even the smallest child. She had been hoping the village warriors were attractive so she could have had some fun with them before she killed them. She'd been disappointed. No matter though. Maybe next time.

The evil girl watched as her large pet raven flew down and landed on her arm.

"Yes, I know, my sweetie." The girl giggled. "We have visitors. Let's go tell Master."

The girl moved through the tropical forest of the island with speed and stealth equal to that of a trained ninja. She finally stopped when she approached a person in a black cloak.

"Master, I have news." She spoke with a slight giggle.

The figure turned to face his servant. He looked almost like a black ghost. His entire body was covered by the black robe, including his hands and feet, as he floated effortlessly off the ground. His face was the only part of his body that wasn't covered with the black veil, and that was hidden by a strange blue and red mask that was shaped like a heart with spikes poking out of it.

"Yes, I can sense it. Soul Edge is near." The masked person spoke.

"Yes, it is on a ship, guarded by Siegfried." The girl reported. "He seems to have four warriors with him. I recognize three of them; Kilik, the warrior monk, Xianghua, an ex-imperial guard, and Maxi, a powerful freelancing pirate. I don't know the other warrior."

"No matter. They will all fall eventually." The masked man suddenly tensed up for a couple of seconds. "Interesting, I am feeling two Soul Edges. Why is that?"

"I bet Cervantes is near." The girl informed.

"Yes, that foolish pirate willingly lets himself be taken over by Soul Edge just so he can have power. Thank you for gathering information on my foes, Tira. You will be greatly rewarded.

"Thank you, Master." The girl giggled wickedly.

The wicked pirate known as Cervantes stood at the helm of his ship. He knew a piece of Soul Edge was nearby and he wanted it. He could feel this piece was stronger than any of the other pieces. It was even stronger than his piece of Soul Edge, which was a fusion of several pieces he had gathered and trapped souls in, turning it into a blade of destruction.

Cervantes was a large and strong man, although there wasn't much to be considered human. His skin was a strange color grey and the skin was completely missing by the tops of his ribs. He had a white beard and hair. His eyes didn't even have pupils or irises. They were just two glowing orbs of white light.

"Hurry up! I want to retrieve that shard before tonight." The pirate ordered to his crew. "Put your backs into it, you yellow bellied scum!"

Cervantes' crew, a group of dead bodies possessed by dark spirits he commanded, merely groaned and did as their master ordered.

Cervantes suddenly sensed an evil presence on his ship, one almost as bad as himself. Not only that, but it had a piece of Soul Edge with it. The pirate looked up towards the lookout where he sensed the force.

"Who dares to trespass on my ship?" The pirate ordered. "Show yourself, so that I may devour you soul into my blade."

"My name is Tira." A blue-haired girl announced. "I am a servant of Grand Daemons."

"I don't care who you serve. No one boards this ship and lives."

"Oh, I wouldn't be too sure of that. I have information for you regarding Soul Edge, plus a little gift from my master as well."

"Speak then child, before I dispose of you as I see fit"

Tira wasn't afraid of the pirate's threats. Instead, she smiled to herself. She enjoyed knowing that someone so cruel would soon be disposed of by Soul Edge. She could only imagine what he would be like after Inferno took over him.

"Right now, the piece of Soul Edge you are looking for is Soul Edge itself. However, a spell has been placed, temporarily making it useless. Soul Edge is on the pirate Maxi's ship, which is ahead of you at the moment. You won't catch them unless you take the short cut and head them off at the pass."

"Very well." Cervantes smirked. "Thank you for the advice. Now leave before I decide to add you to my collection of souls."

"There is something else I should warn out about."

"Oh?"

"One of the warriors carries the blade known as Soul Calibur. It was created with the purpose of destroying Soul Edge. You going there may awaken it."

"I care not what weapons they have or what they do! They will all die and I shall take their souls!"

"Well, I wish you luck." The deranged girl spread her arms and jumped down from the lookout, only to have a large herd of black sparrows swarm around her, preventing her from hitting the ground and carrying her off to the island.

"Suicidal bitch." Cervantes snorted. "Nonetheless, she did provide useful information. For her sake, she better hope it was true." The pirate lord turned to his crew now and barked ordered. "You heard the lady. We can head Maxi and the others off if we take a short cut through the pass."

As Sheik and Siegfried watched an island go by, the knight could tell his friend seemed to be tense about something.

"What's wrong?" Siegfried asked.

"I sense great evil coming from that island." Sheik warned. "I don't know what it is, but it is as strong as Soul Edge, if not stronger."

"Should we check it out?"

"No, something that powerful would have no trouble destroying us. I'll think about a solution when the time comes."

"Whatcha talking about?" Xianghua asked the two.

"Not much." Sheik replied. "I'm warning Siegfried of some dangers we may face in the future." Sheik didn't want to keep everyone in the dark, but until he could find out what that evil was, he didn't want to worry anyone. "Why aren't you with Kilik?"

"Because he's clueless." Xianghua crossed her arms, pouting a bit.

"All men are clueless when it comes to see a woman loves them." Sheik spoke, knowing how Link could never figure out why so many women gathered around him, and what their flirtatious comments meant. Something interrupted Sheik thoughts though as he felt a dark force approaching. "Something is coming! Be prepared."

A large ship with torn sails and the symbol of a pirate approached Maxi's ship from the side.

"Maxi, Kilik!" Xianghua hollered for her friends to come out of the cabin.

Maxi and Kilik ran out of the ship's cabin and saw the dark ship coming towards them.

"What the?" Maxi stared is awe at the ship.

As the other ship closed in on Maxi's, the group saw a sick looking, white-bearded pirate standing on the top of the ship's lookout. He held two blades. One was a curved pirate's cutlass, and he other…the other looked like Soul Edge. It was smaller than the Soul Edge that they all knew, but it was Soul Edge all the same.

'_It can't be.'_ A look of terror crossed over Siegfried's face as he saw the pirate. _'Not him.'_

"Who is that?" Kilik asked in shock.

"Cervantes." Maxi announced. "He is the worst pirate to ever sail the seven seas. He has taken countless lives and murders just for kicks."

Cervantes jumped down and landed on Maxi's ship.

"Prepare to attack!" The menacing pirate ordered his crew of possessed dead bodies. "Don't leave a single alive, and remember. I want Soul Edge!"

"Soul Edge? But I don't get it." Kilik spoke. "This guy already has Soul Edge."

Before Kilik, Xianghua, or Maxi could figure out what was going on, Cervantes's crew attacked.

The crew didn't stand a chance against the five warriors though, despite the three to one odds. Sheik leapt in the air and released a barrage of needles at four of the men, Xianghua and Siegfried both cut down three pirates. Kilik smashed four more with his bow staff, and Maxi took down five with his martial arts skills.

The last crewmember fell to the ground, before they all rose again.

"Shouldn't they all be dead?" Maxi growled.

"They're already dead." Sheik proclaimed. "These bodies are empty shells, used to host evil spirits."

"What do we do then?" Kilik asked.

"Simple. We destroy the shells." Sheik announced.

The five warriors again charged the undead pirate crew. Since Xianghua and Siegfried had blades, the attack was easier for them than Kilik and Maxi, but everyone was able to successfully destroy the crew.

All that remained of the crew were floating balls of blue light; the souls that had inhabited the bodies of the crew.

"So, I see you five are a force to be reckoned with." Cervantes complimented. "You five bodies will do quite nicely as replacements of the men you just destroyed

"That is something I will not allow!" Siegfried roared, charging towards the pirate.

******

Tira and Majora were watching the battle through a dark orb intently.

"So, do you think Cervantes will win?" Tira asked.

"It does not matter." Majora responded. "It will be beneficial to our plans whether he wins or loses.

*********

Cervantes' Soul Edge met Soul Calibur, causing a blue light to go around Siegfried's blade and a red light to go around Cervantes'.

"Soul Calibur." Siegfried gasped, watching as the ancient spirit sword began to reawaken.

"That magic blade won't save you, boy." Cervantes roared. "I will destroy you all."

Cervantes swung his mighty blade in Siegfried's direction. Siegfried avoided the attack, but the blade released a gust of wind when it was thrown, knocking Siegfried down and causing him to roll.

"Siegfried, are you O.K?" Sheik asked.

"I'm fine." Siegfried assured. "Watch out though. That blade is powerful."

"Let's take him out." Maxi suggested.

"Yeah, we took down Nightmare, so this guy shouldn't be a problem." Kilik agreed.

The three young warriors charged Cervantes, with Kilik and Maxi in the lead. Kilik swung his staff at the evil pirate, but the pirate blocked the attack with his cutlass and slashed at Kilik with Soul Edge. Kilik avoided the attack, but was also knocked back by a blast of wind.

Maxi kicked at the malicious pirate, but Cervantes avoided the kick. The pirate tried to slash at Maxi's legs, but Maxi jumped and hit the pirate with his nunchaku several times. Cervantes only growled and sent Maxi flying with another swing of Soul Edge.

Xianghua, along with Siegfried, both attacked the pirate at once. The pirate avoided Xianghua's slash, and then shot a blast of fire out of Soul Edge at Siegfried. The knight raised his blade to block the attack like a shield, but was still knocked back from the blast.

Xianghua slashed at the pirate once again, but he blocked her blow with his blade. When she tried to kick him, he caught her leg and examined her with a gluttonous look on his face.

"You know, it's a pity I'll have to kill a beauty like you. I could always have some fun before I do." The evil pirate laughed.

Maxi and Kilik charged at the pirate once again, forcing him to release Xianghua's leg. Cervantes blocked Kilik's attacks and then dodged Maxi's. The combine strengths of the three warriors were now able to keep Cervantes at bay. However, none of them knew the tricks Cervantes had up his sleeve. Pressing a button on his cutlass, the pirate shot a bullet out of the handle of his cutlass at Kilik. The unsuspecting monk didn't have time to react as the bullet hit him, causing him to cry out in pain. The pirate fired a blast of flames at the monk.

"Kilik!" Xianghua yelled, jumped on her friend to knock him out of the way.

Xianghua reacted a second too slow though. She had been able to push Kilik far enough so the full force of the attack didn't strike him, but he was still hit by the attack. Xianghua was also hit by the attack. Both Xianghua and Kilik were knocked over by Sheik, who up until this point, had only watched the fight.

"Why aren't you helping us?" Xianghua asked angrily.

"I'm waiting for you to use that blade of yours properly." Sheik responded in a cool voice.

"What?"

Maxi was the only warrior left standing, and even though his speed was enough to help him in the battle, he couldn't compete against the brute force of Soul Edge.

"How can I beat this guy?" Maxi growled.

Several sharp pieces of metal flew at Cervantes, ripping into his chest and causing him to bleed. Everyone turned around to see who had done that attack.

"In case you're wondering, that was me!" A familiar voice yelled from on top of the ship's sail.

To everyone's horror, it was a woman dressed in revealing purple armor with short white hair. She wore a metal glove that was a sharp claw on her left hand.

"Ivy!" Xianghua shouted in surprise.

"Nice to see you still remember me." The woman smirked.

"What are you doing here?" Maxi growled. He may not have remembered his friends, but he did remember his enemies, and Ivy was one of them.

"Don't worry. I'm not here to kill you, at least, not yet." The woman assured. With a flick of her wrist, the metal pieces that were wedged in Cervantes chest flew out and began to hover around her as they combined to form her metallic whip blade.

"So Daughter, you are eager to die?" Cervantes addressed the woman.

"As long as you go first, _Father_, I couldn't care less." Ivy responded, as she jumped from the lookout and attacked viciously.

With her strange blade, Ivy was able to hold her own against the pirate, but she seemed to be outmatched by his power. Cervantes tried to shoot a bullet at her, but Ivy knew his tricks and avoided the attack. She used her own powers to bind him in an alchemy enchantment. However, Cervantes's blade emitted an eerie red glow, and he was able to free himself from the spell before she could finish him. The pirate swung at his daughter, but she jumped back next to Sheik and the others.

"Now listen up! I'm only going to say this once." Ivy spoke. "I'm going to bind him with my whip. Strike him when he's restrained."

Ivy's whips extended itself, wrapping around Cervantes and restraining him. Maxi ran towards the pirate, preparing his ultimate attack.

"Rising Dragon of The Zodiac Kick!" Maxi yelled, as flames formed around his foot and he kicked the pirate in the face.

Cervantes hit the ground, his head dislodged by Maxi's power. All that held his head to his body was a piece of skin at the side of his neck.

"Remind me never to get hit by that." Kilik grunted as he tried to stand up. Xianghua ran over and supported her friend.

"Why did you help us?" Xianghua questioned Ivy.

"Personal incentive." Ivy responded

Cervantes began to stir as he pulled himself off of the ground.

"What! No way? You couldn't have survived that!" Maxi roared

The dreadful pirate adjusted his head so that it sat correctly on his body and laughed. "Fool! I can't be killed! I'm immortal! Your destinies are sealed with me."

"I will change that fate!" Ivy roared, charging Cervantes. Siegfried and Maxi followed, attacking pirate relentlessly. It didn't seem to matter how much damage they caused. He couldn't be killed anyway.

"It seems so useless." Xianghua whispered in despair. "Sheik, what can I do?"

"I told you. Use your weapon."

"But how?"

"Concentrate. Use the love you have for others. Your love powers the blade. Use the power to banish the darkness."

Xianghua drew the Magic Sword and focused her energy into it, creating a blue aura around the blade. She then charged towards Cervantes.

"Foolish girl! Even that blade will not save you." The pirate aimed his cutlass, but Ivy wrapped her whip around his hand and pulled, causing him to fire straight up.

Xianghua cut off Cervantes' hand. Soul Edge fell to the ground.

"My hand! But how?" He screamed.

Maxi and Siegfried quickly grabbed Cervantes, restraining.

"Xianghua, now!" Maxi yelled.

Xianghua yelled and plunged the sacred blade into Cervantes stomach.

Cervantes mouthed gaped open as his eyes widened. He made a weak choking noise and then turned to dust.

Before anyone could congratulate Xianghua, she turned to Soul Edge and plunged her blade into it. Soul Edge released red lightning as the Magic Sword released blue lighting. The opposing forces of the two blades sent Xianghua flying backwards through the air. Using the rest of his strength, Kilik jumped and caught Xianghua before she landed. However, he was too weak to land on his feet and landed on his rear instead.

Xianghua opened her eyes to find herself in Kilik's lap. She peered up at her friend.

"Are you O.K.?" Kilik asked.

"Yeah, I'm just shocked I was able to do that." Xianghua admitted.

"As I have said before, both your and Kilik's weapons were enchanted by the elves." Sheik reminded. "Kilik, you also have the ability for such a task, but Xianghua was better prepared."

"That's probably because I used to own Soul Calibur." Xianghua stated.

Siegfried, who had already known this, seemed to almost tense up when he heard that, almost as if he was keeping a secret.

"Say, where did Ivy go?" Siegfried asked.

Everyone looked in various directions. In all of the commotion, the woman had vanished.

"How did she get away? Did she swim?" Maxi asked.

"Who knows?" Sheik responded. "Let's be happy nobody was injured and that Cervantes' Soul Edge wasn't at full power. In fact, it wasn't even at half. It seems to me that if we ever want to be ready for the return of Soul Edge, we all need to become stronger." Sheik picked up the weaker Soul Edge. Xianghua had been able to put in into a dormant state, but it was only a matter of time before the blade would reawaken. "I'm going to hide Soul Edge on this ship."

"Wait a minute! This is my ship, and you don't have permission to do that." Maxi informed, furious with Sheik's audacity.

"Sorry, but this is a precaution. We all know what Soul Edge is capable of. Don't forget it can lure people to it. To prevent this from happening, I think it will be safe as far away from us as possible."

"Oh come on, Maxi. Be a good sport." Xianghua pleaded. Something about Xianghua's pleading seemed to change the pirate's mind, although he wasn't sure why. She was cute, but no one was that cute.

"Fine." Maxi agreed hotly. "But keep in mind whose still boss around here."

"Of course." Sheik responded.

As Sheik walked below deck put an enchantment on the blade to weaken it and hide it, everyone couldn't help but think the real person in charge seemed to be Sheik.

********

On the abandoned island, Majora and Tira watched as Cervantes's ship burned and sank, while Maxi's ship sailed off in victory.

"I guess that's the end of Cervantes." Tira stated.

"For now, perhaps." Majora responded. "Keeping the weaker Soul Edge on their ship only means those fools don't realize they are falling right into our trap."

"When do want us to strike, master?" Astaroth asked, walking up to Majora and Tira.

"Well, look who finally recovered from getting his butt kicked!" Tira taunted.

"Quiet, insect, or I'll give you more pain than you ever thought possible." The large golem pointed his large ax at the girl.

"Ooh, sexy." Tira giggled.

"That's enough, children." Majora ordered. "Come, we have plans to finish."

Tira and Astaroth followed Majora as they plotted for their upcoming victory.


	10. Chapter 9 What Makes a True Warrior

I do not own Soul Calibur or Zelda. Zelda is owned by Nintendo, and Soul Calibur is owned by Namco Bandai Games

Ch. 9 What Makes a True Warrior

Taki and Yun-Seong sat by the campfire while Cassandra and Talim spared against Link. Both girls wished to improve their skills, and Link had been more than happy to help them. Since he was a match for them even when fighting together, it was best for them to spar against him at the same time, plus it forced the girls to work together.

Even though they were only sparing, they were fighting with full strength. Link blocked one of Cassandra's blows with his shield and kicked her backwards. He then ducked as Talim tried to jump at him with a slash.

Taki sat by the fire, deep in thought, while Yun-Seong licked his wounds from yet another defeat with Link.

_Flashback: _

_Yun-Seong tried to attack Link in a daily basis to prove that he was a better warrior, and every time he did, Link defeated the teen with ease. This time Yun-Seong thought he had the pointy-eared freak. Link had been sitting near a river, fishing. All he had with him was his fishing rod and a butterfly net that he used to put his fish once he reeled them in. His sword and shield were lying a few feet away, out of reach. Link didn't seem to notice Yun-Seong creeping through the brush towards his opponent. The elf merely hummed happily as he fished. _

_Link reeled in his fishing line since he hadn't received a single nibble. This was the chance Yun-Seong had waited for. As Link checked his empty line, Yun-Seong charged Link, ready to attack with his blade. For some reason, Link was ready. Without turning around, the elf blocked Yun-Seong's blows with his butterfly net and then tripped the teen with his fishing rod. Link pressed the tip of the his butterfly net's handle against Yun-Seong's chest and turned to Yun-Seong with that stupid silly grin on his face that he always had._

"_Good try." Link complimented and then he ignored Yun-Seong and went back to his fishing. _

_To make matters worse, Talim had found out about what Yun-Seong had done. She gave Yun-Seong a long lecture about honor and that if he wanted to prove that he's a man so much, than he shouldn't attack unarmed people from behind. _

_Yun-Seong's argument was that Link had planned that. Link purposely left himself exposed so that Yun-Seong would attack him from behind just so that damn elf could humiliate him once again._

_Talim refused to believe such nonsense. Link wasn't the kind of person who took pride in humiliating people, and he would never do such a thing. _

_Yun-Seong though couldn't be convinced. He believed that nobody, NOBODY could be as good as Link was leading people to believe without some sort of deception. _

********

Deep in a dark tomb off the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, dark forces gathered. In a chamber filled with fallen pillars. Several warriors were on their knees, worshiping a statue.

The first person was known as Voldo. He was a slender and lean, but strong man who was wrapped in bandages like a mummy. He wore a metal mask that hid his face and his visible skin was grey. He wore metal boots with spikes running up and down them. His weapon of choice was a pair of arm gauntlets that had three daggers lethally sticking out of them, almost like a pair of claws. He was a dangerous man, for he could climb walls and stick to them like a spider, and every single one of his muscles were said to be double-jointed.

The second worshiper was a lizardman. This lizardman was larger, stronger, and faster than all others. Instead of the green skin that a normal lizardman had, this one had blue skin, with a more dinosaur-like appearance to his features. His head was shaped exactly like a triceratops, with a single horn on his nose, and rose out of the neck shield like structure on his head.

The third was a skeleton who wore gentleman's clothing and a large hat with a feather on top of it. The strange creature carried two jagged knives that he could slay nearly anything with. He was known as Revenant, the undead assassin.

The fourth member was a man completely cloaked in black. All that could be seen of him was two glowing red eyes. Nothing was known about him except that rumor had it he was a shape shifter.

"Where is Spawn?" The giant statue that the four evil doers were worshiping asked through some sort of telekinesis powers. Whenever it spoke, its eyes would grow red. Indicating that it was time for its followers to listen and obey.

In an explosion of smoke, another worshiper appeared and bowed down to the statue.

"I am here, my lord. Forgive my tardiness." The daemon like worshiper apologized. The daemon was indeed Spawn; named so since he was spawned from Hell and perhaps the most dangerous of these worshipers. Spawn looked like a muscular man dressed head to toe in a tight black suit that covered even his mouth. The only part of his body that showed was his glowing green eyes. Chains ran down his belt, around his legs and around his arm. Sharp spikes protruded from both his boots and red gauntlets where claws as sharp as knives protruded. Across his back was a red cape in which could transform into any weapon the daemon wished.

"I have been recruiting warriors for you." The Daemon explained.

"You mean like the assassins who failed me?" The statue stated.

"My apologies for my failure, my lord." Spawn replied, slight fear in his voice. "But I am currently working on along and well thought out plan what will…"

"No." The statue interrupted before Span had a chance to finish his sentence. "I will take control this time. Voldo, bring me the beast."

"You don't mean?" Voldo gasped.

"Do not question my orders." The statue replied. "Bring him here, now."

"Yes sir." Voldo replied, walking down a dark hall of the tomb.

"As for the rest of you, go back to your regular assignments." The state ordered.

As the statue's worshipers left, the statue stopped Spawn before he could vanish. "Not you, Spawn. I'm curious. What is this plan that you speak of?"

Voldo continued to walk down a dark and eerie hallway that led to the sleeping quarters he shared with the other followers. He silently grumbled over the special treatment Spawn always received. Voldo had always served his master faithfully, long before any of the others even knew his master exsisted. It had been he who led Spawn and the recruited lizardman, Aeon Calcos, in the first place. Now his master was confiding in Spawn and training him as a second in command, a position that Voldo felt he deserved. No matter, he hoped that if he successfully completed his mission that he would once again become his master's favorite.

Several lizardmen flocked around a steel door that contained the "beast" behind it.

"Remember to stay on guard." Voldo warned the lizardmen. "This beast is as wild and vicious as they come. In a blink of an eye, he may try to tear us apart."

Voldo walked up to the door and knocked on the door casually. As he approached, a large dent protruded from the door as the "beast" pounded from the other side. Another large dent appeared in the steel door and it then the door was thrown off its hinges. Stepping out of his chamber, the "beast" looked at who had disturbed his sleep.

The beast was appeared to be part human and some sort of demented figure. The monster stood well over six feet tall. Glowing red eyes darted over Voldo and his followers. The monster's skin was pale green with spikes protruding out of the top of his bald head and left shoulder. His right hand was just like a normal human's, but his left hand was a menacing claw-shape, similar to Nightmare's. He wore armored pants, but no shirt. Instead, his chest contained a very strange crystal-like structure. No one knew what the structure was, but it was like looking through a window into a burning fireplace.

The beast let out an angry roar due to the disturbance from his slumber and even the lizardmen seemed to coward when he did so.

"My master wishes to speak to you." Voldo informed.

Voldo lead the "beast" down the hall to his master, keeping an eye on the monster in case he went into one of his random rampages and tried to kill him. Spawn had already left when Voldo had arrived, leaving only him and the beast with his master.

"Necrid, how was your rest?" The statue asked the green monster.

The monster released a low growl in response.

"It was fine, I see." The statue responded as if he could understand the creature's grunts and roars. "I have a job for you, Necrid."

The monster looked up at the statue, curious about.

"There are some travelers I would like you to find. When you find them, bring the one with the large ears here to me and kill the others. If you do this, I will make your suffering vanish."

The monster released a roar and nodded in agreement. He then jumped through the roof of the tomb and began his travels.

"Aeon" The statue called now.

The blue lizardman jumped down from the ceiling.

"Bring a small army of your men with you in case our warrior fails." The statue commanded.

"Yes, master." The lizardman agreed.

************

"Good job, Link." Talim complimented the elf after he counted to thirty correctly in English and actually seemed to understand what the numbers represented.

Everyone but Yun-Seong agreed it was vital for Link to learn English. Talim and Cassandra wanted to be able to learn about Link as well as carry on conversations with him. Taki on the other hand wanted him to be able to speak English for an entirely different reason.

Although Cassandra had offered to help with Link's education, Talim seemed to take it upon herself to teach Link as much as she could.

"OK, now say a greeting." Talim requested.

"Hello. Me Link. How are you?"

"Good job." The girl cheered. Even though Link hadn't done a perfect job, she knew better than to be overly picky with Link yet. She was satisfied as long as he could just say the basic words.

"Let's see, what should I ask you next?" Talim wondered. "Oh, I know! What did we have for lunch yesterday?" This was more of a test of Link's comprehension of the knowledge, something he seemed to have down very well.

"Fish." Link responded.

"And?" Talim requested.

"Bread and apples."

"Great job." Talim cheered.

"Talim, why don't you go get us some water?" Taki interrupted the lesson by tossing her an empty bottle. "I'll continue with Link's lesson."

"Right." The girl agreed, trying her best to follow the older woman's instructions.

As Talim left, Link and Taki found they were alone together, an awkward event. Both of them felt that the other was hiding something from the group. Link knew that Taki suspected something ever since his Triforce fragment had protected him from the influence of Soul Edge. However, Taki didn't know Link knew something about her own secret. Link had observed the ninja's fighting; when she threw one of her blades, she didn't draw her other blade that was strapped to the back of her belt. He could sense a powerful dark energy coming from that blade.

"So, how are your lessons coming?" Taki asked.

"O.K." Link responded still with a thick accent.

"You seem to understand us pretty well." Taki commented.

"Fairly." Link responded.

"You still need work on your speaking though." Taki reminded.

"Yes, still need work." Link agreed.

"Link, I want you to explain to me about your hand." Taki pointed to Link's left hand to make sure that he wouldn't misunderstand what she wanted. "Why doesn't Soul Edge's attacks weaken you?"

"Secret. No can tell." Link responded. "You hold secret." Link pointed to Taki's blade that she did not use in battle.

"So, your senses are keener that I thought." Taki spoke. "You know, not many people can sense that when it is sheathed."

"It like Soul Edge." Link commented.

"Yes, you are correct. I will openly confess it was a mistake I made long ago. I suppose because of your connection to the blade, I should tell you." Taki agreed.

*********

Talim sat near the river and dipped her bottle into river. Unknown to her, Necrid watched her from the top of a nearby mountain, waiting for a perfect chance to strike.

For some reason, Necrid felt slightly hesitant to attack, but he didn't know why. He had been having strange memories of people he didn't recognize, memories from his past. Yet, all he knew was killing and death. He could remember waking up in the Void one day in great pain. He was able to escape and wander this world until the daemon, Spawn, found him and recruited him to serve his master. He pushed those thoughts away quickly. Whatever. It didn't matter to him. As long as that statue could make his pain go away, he didn't care. Necrid leapt high in the air, preparing to crash down on the girl and crush her.

The wind suddenly blew towards Talim, warning her of the unexpected danger. She quickly jumped to the side, avoiding Necrid as he crashed where she had once stood.

"By the wind, what are you?" The girl gasped, gaping at the giant green monster.

The monster swung his human fist at Talim, who gracefully jumped and avoided the attack. The monster then jumped in the air and tried to slash at the girl with his claw, but Talim back flipped out of the way, causing the monster's claw to smash into the ground. The impact didn't even phase the mighty beast. He simply withdrew his hand from the ground and crushed the rock that he held in his hand.

Talim drew her weapons, ready to fight back, but she could sense something strange about this monster that made her not want to hurt it. It seemed more like a wild animal, frightened and in pain, not like a blood thirsty beast. It then occurred to her. This thing…it was human.

"Stop!" Talim cried as it was about to attack her again. "I don't want to fight you. You're human, aren't you?"

These words seemed to stop Necrid from attacking for a second. Human? What was this girl talking about? All of his life he had been called "monster" or "beast." Being called human was a whole new concept to him.

"Please, don't attack." Talim begged. "I know what is going on. You're in a lot a pain and trapped in your own misery. You don't know what you're doing. Please, let me help you."

As strange as this girl's words were to him, they meant little. Of course he was in pain, and there was nothing she could do about it. The monster lunged at Talim again, but this time he was much quicker, knowing that his prey wasn't as easy as a target as he once thought. Talim tried to jump out of the way, but she wasn't prepared for his new speed. The monster caught her by the leg with his human hand.

The girl let out of a moan of pain as he practically shattered her bone with his strong grip.

********

"I once battled the original owner of Soul Edge, Cervantes, and won. However, I was foolish enough to infuse a piece of Soul Edge after the battle. Because of this, my blade, Mekki-Maru has a piece of Soul Edge in it. That is why you sense the same dark energy in my blade."

"Destroy it." Link suggested.

"I intend to if I can't find a way to purify it. However, I have not given up the hope to purify it, so before you ask, no, you may not have my blade."

"Fine." Link agreed, not wanting to push this issue.

"There is one more thing I wish to speak to you about, Link."

"What?"

"Well, your performance a few days ago against those assassins. I didn't wish to bring this up to the others, but it is important that I do now. You didn't kill those assassins. Why?"

"Warrior no kill people." Link responded.

"Yes, warriors do." Taki interrupted. "I don't like the idea any better than you do, but trust me. That is a necessary part of our journey. Who knows what those assassins would have tried to do to you or the girls if I hadn't killed them? Keep in mind how you define a person, Link. A person isn't a person just because they are human. A person is a person if they feel compassion and love towards others. Those who are willing to kill mercilessly and without regret are better left to be judged by a higher power."

"Fine." Link responded, even though he didn't know on whether or not he agreed with Taki's statement.

However, before either of them could push the subject any further, they heard a scream.

"Talim!" Link cried, running towards the direction of his friend.

********

Talim was being swung around by Necrid as she screamed. He threw her through the air and she landed hard against the solid ground. She whimpered in pain and examined her broken leg.

"Please stop!" Talim begged. "You don't know what you're doing! You're being controlled."

The monster ignored Talim's pleas and jumped towards the girl, ready to finish off his prey.

Link jumped and kicked the monster in the side of the face, causing it to skid across the ground. Link landed in front of Talim, deliberately placing himself between the monster and her. Taki also jumped down and landed next to Link, her blade drawn and ready for battle.

"A daemon!" She gasped. "I thought I rid the world of these.

"Taki, others." Link instructed.

Taki nodded, understanding what Link meant. If Talim had been attacked, Yun-Seong and Cassandra could be in trouble too. The ninja ran in the direction where she believed she could find the other two young warriors.

"Talim, stay. I fight daemon." Link told his friend, using the term he had just learned from Taki, deciding it must mean monster. The Hylian warrior rushed towards Necrid, drawing his sword and shield.

"Wait, it's not a daemon." Talim yelled, but the battle was already beginning.

************

Yun-Seong crept through some woods quietly. He could have sworn he saw Link around here somewhere, and this was his chance to show that elf boy that he was every bit as good as Link. There he was! That green outfit blended in well with the forest, but the blond hair was easy enough to find. Yun-Seong just couldn't understand why a full grown man would willingly wear a dress and call it a tunic. No matter. This time it was his turn to win. Yun-Seong quickly ducked behind a tree so he wouldn't be spotted by Link, although he noticed Link's back was turned and he seemed oblivious to what was going on.

Yun-Seong charged in towards Link and tackled the elf, pinning him on his back.

"What?" The confused teen looked down at who he had tackled. It wasn't Link, but Cassandra, and she didn't look happy with him.

"You hormonally challenged little punk!" Cassandra screamed.

"Wait, I wasn't after you…"

Yun-Seong didn't have time to finish his sentence. Cassandra pulled her shield and smacked him in the face, knocking him off her. As the stunned Yun-Seong rose to his feet, Cassandra jumped up and kicked him in the stomach, causing him to stumble backwards.

The blond warrior grabbed her blade and charged at Yun-Seong, who frantically blocked her attacks with his own.

"Look, I'm sorry." Yun-Seong apologized, while trying to fend himself from the angry woman. "I thought you were Link."

His apology didn't seem to interest Cassandra. She continued to attack him relentlessly. Just that week of training had really paid off for Cassandra. She was much stronger and faster already, and Yun-Seong could tell.

Cassandra hit Yun-Seong with her shield once again, knocking him to the ground. Before he could get up, Cassandra put her foot on top of his chest and pointed her short sword at his throat.

"I said I was sorry." Yun-Seong gasped. He knew Cassandra wouldn't kill him, but she was mad enough to continue kicking his butt. "I told you, I thought you were Link."

"Don't give me that crap." Cassandra cut Yun-Seong off again. "You're pathetic, you know that? I don't know why you call yourself a warrior."

"Don't call me pathetic!" Yun-Seong growled. "And I am a warrior! I was my master's top pupil in his dojo. Soon, I would have been ready to challenge him and become one of the top warriors in Korea."

"Please, if you think that will impress me, you're wrong. You spend all of your time trying to beat Link. You will never be a better warrior than he is, Yun-Seong." Cassandra removed her sword and foot and aloud the teen to get back to his feet.

"You're wrong." Yun-Seong injected, pointing his finger at Cassandra. "Just you wait. One of these days I will be stronger, and I will prove you wrong."

"Ha, you think physical strength is really what matters. That's exactly what I mean. You don't know the first thing about what it really means to be a great warrior. A great warrior doesn't fight every opponent he sees just to prove himself. A true warrior fights with more than muscles, and has a real reason to fight."

"What do you mean?"

Cassandra simply shook her head. "You're too pig headed to understand."

"There you two are." Taki approached. "I was worried.

"Why, what's wrong?" Cassandra asked.

"A daemon has attacked." Taki explained. "Talim was ambushed by a daemon, and I was worried that you two may have suffered similar fates. Link is fighting the daemon right now, but he may need my help. Come on! He needs my help!"

As the two younger warriors ran behind Taki, Yun-Seong turned and asked Cassandra, "Why did she say that he'd need her help and not ours?"

"Taki probably won't let us fight." Cassandra said, irritated that Taki treated her as if she was as childish as Yun-Seong. "She doesn't wish for us to get hurt so she tries to protect us, something a real warrior does."

**********

Link dodged the monster's attack as it lunged towards him and smashed through the earth effortlessly. The monster charged Link again, slashing at him with his claws, but Link was too quick. The monster was definitely stronger than anything Link had faced before and it was quick, but Link was quicker and smarter. He was able to use these to his advantages and stay one step ahead of Necrid.

A blade made of green energy appeared in the monster's hand. The monster swung at Link, trying to bring it down on Link's head. The attack was too fast for the Hylian to dodge, so he raised his own blade to block the attack. The monster pushed down on Link's blade, and the Hylian warrior felt his blade slowly lowering.

Link quickly spun to the side. The monster, who had still been trying to push Link's blade, suddenly felt his blade smash into the ground as Link was no longer there.

The monster turned at the very moment Link kicked him in the face, knocking him backwards. Link used his magic to shoot a blast of fire out of his blade. The fire hit and he roared in pain, fell to the ground, and rolled, trying to put out the flames.

Necrid finally stood up, but was panting heavily. Link could tell that the fight was almost over, and it was time to end it now. Link took out his bow and strung an arrow, aiming for the strange crystal on the stomach. Transferring a small fraction of his Triforce's power into his arrow, he turned the arrow into a light arrow; an arrow made of pure, gold light, capable of destroying nearly any kind of evil.

Talim got to her feet and limped in front of Necrid, her arms spread. She faced Link.

"Link, no!" Talim yelled. "This thing isn't evil. He's human! He's been hurt and manipulated by evil forces. Please don't kill him. You don't kill people, Link. Please don't hurt him."

How did she know that? Link looked at the creature, who was gazing at Talim with curiosity and wonder.

******

_This girl_. Necrid wondered in awe. _Why was this girl protecting him?_ Necrid put his hand to his head as another strange memory began to haunt him. This one though was so much more real. So much more clear.

_Necrid was knocked to the ground by strange men. They were ordinary men, and didn't seem to be very strong. He should have been able to defeat them without any trouble. Yet, he wasn't even fighting back. He had a sword strapped to his belt, and yet, he wasn't trying to defend himself. Necrid noticed one of the men held a crying child. It looked like what these humans called an infant. Strange, the child…there was something about that child that was familiar to Necrid that he didn't understand. _

"_Please don't hurt him!" A woman yelled, running next to Necrid and putting her arms around him. "You can take the money, just leave our family alone!" _

Necrid suddenly snapped out of the strange memory. Family? What family? He saw once again the girl standing between him and the warrior that was about to end his painful existence

******

Link lowered his weapon, realizing Talim wasn't going to back down. She was right. He wouldn't kill unless absolutely necessary. However, he didn't know what he could do if this 'person' wouldn't stop attacking them.

"Talim!" He warned.

"Ahh!"

Before either could react, the monstrous human smacked Talim in the back of her head, knocking her out cold. The monster picked her up by the back of her shirt with his monstrous claw and challenged Link with an arrogant glare.

Link raised his bow once again and aimed. He knew his aim good enough to could kill the monster without hurting Talim, but he didn't dare shoot, fearing of the small risk of hurting his friend.

Yun-Seong, Cassandra, and Taki arrived at the battle to see Link with his bow aimed, and the monster holding Talim in his monstrous claw.

"Don't shoot, you idiot!" Yun-Seong yelled at Link. He ran towards Link to stop him. As soon as Yun-Seong smacked into Link, Link felt his hand loosen on the string. Link quickly aimed his bow up so that it would shoot harmlessly into the air.

Taki and Cassandra drew their weapons and pointed them towards the daemon.

"Release her, now." Cassandra ordered.

The daemon looked at Taki then at the girl. He jumped into the air into a groove of trees and vanished.

"You idiot!" Yun-Seong roared at Link. He wanted to kill the elf for nearly shooting Talim, and now it seemed Talim was going to be killed by that thing. Yun-Seong tried to punch Link in the face, but the elf easily caught his fist and threw the teen away from him.

"Calm down, Yun-Seong." Taki ordered. "Getting angry won't help."

"This is your fault!" Yun-Seong pointed towards Link. "You should have stopped that thing! What kind of hero are you?"

"I know." Link agreed with Yun-Seong. He already felt as if this situation was his fault. He should have done something, something that would have prevented the monster from hurting Talim. If only he hadn't hesitated, then Talim would be free and that beast would be dead.

Link turned to face them. "I fix this." He informed.

Before any of them could argue, Link was already out of sight, going after Talim.

"He may need help." Taki informed the younger two warriors. "Stay here."

"No." Yun-Seong argued. "Talim is my friend. I'm not going to stand around here while she's in the hands of that thing, and you and elf boy are trying to be the heroes. I'm coming, and you can't stop me."

Taki just scowled. She _could_ stop him if she wanted to, but she didn't have time for that.

"Fine." The ninja agreed. "But don't be careless."

Just as Taki finished those words, Yun-Seong ran after Link and the monster.

"Wait!" Taki yelled after him. "Do you even know how to track them?"

Taki and Cassandra ran after the teen, knowing full well that he'd get lost without the ninja's tracking abilities.

********

Necrid traveled quickly through the forest, losing his pursuers with ease. Even if they did have tracking skills, it would take them at least a day before they could find him. Necrid dropped the girl on her back. A blade made of green energy appeared in Necrid's hand as he prepared to drive it through the young warrior's chest. However, as he was about to deliver the final strike, something stopped him. Another memory.

_The vision had the same woman as before, but this time she sat in a rocking chair, softly humming to a young child who sat snuggled on her lap. Necrid didn't know why, but this child was the same as the infant from his last memory. Looking out the window was a boy, probably no older than twelve. _

"_Mother, Father has not returned yet. I'm going to look for him." _

"_You will do no such thing." The woman demanded. "Just give him some more time. I'm sure he'll be home soon." _

_With those words, the doors to the small shack swung open and Necrid walked into the house, holding a girl wrapped in his cape. _

"_Father!" The boy greeted. _

"_Is Elana O.K.?" The woman asked, standing up. _

_Necrid didn't answer; he merely set the girl down on her bed and peered down at her as she began to awaken. _

"_Papa?" The girl spoke. _

"_It's all right, sweetheart," Necrid spoke to the girl in a soothing voice. "Why did you try to climb that tree in this storm?"_

"_I wanted to pick some apples so we wouldn't have to worry about food." The girl chirped. _

"_That was very sweet of you." Necrid said. "I just hope you don't try anymore dangerous stunts. I know we are going through rough times, but your life is much more precious to us than full bellies." _

Necrid looked down at the girl he was about to kill. How had she caused him to remember things that he never knew in the first place? Papa…Elana…he had never heard such names. Furthermore, what was stopping him from killing this girl? Necrid grasped his throbbing head with both hands. He stumbled away from the girl and fell to his knees. What was wrong with him?

Talim awoke to the giant creature growling with pain. She startled back as she saw the stranger turned to her with his glowing red eyes. As she watched him, she knew her beliefs were confirmed. He was in a lot a pain.

"Are you O.K.?" She asked.

Necrid looked towards the girl. She was concerned about him for some reason. Why?

Talim limped over to Necrid. "I know you're human."

"Hu…Human." Necrid pronounced in low growls. He had been called monster and beast his whole life. Being called human was so strange.

Talim reached out and grasped on to the man's monstrous claw and studied it for a few seconds.

"You're in a lot of pain, aren't you?"

"Ye...yes." Necrid responded. It was strange, how he was suddenly able to speak this girl's language. With the exception of Spawn and his master, he hadn't been able to communicate, for he could only speak with growls and grunts. And yet, he could speak this girl's language as if he had always known it.

"My name is Talim." The girl greeted. "What can I call you?"

"Necrid." Necrid responded.

Necrid began to gather firewood to make camp. It was getting dark and he wanted the warmth. He wasn't stupid, although he knew many thought he was. Truthfully, he was very intelligent. He had survived in the wild his whole life: learning how to fish, hunt, and build camps. People only assumed he was stupid when they saw him because they judged his looks and demeanor.

Once Necrid was done with the fire he stood up and turned towards Talim. "Stay here." He ordered.

Necrid leapt into the woods and vanished. Talim wondered what she should do while he was gone. She wondered if he was treated had turned him into what he was now. He didn't seem interested in hurting her anymore. Even if she did want to escape, she knew she wouldn't be able to get far with her broken leg. She decided to do as Necrid said, even though she was still slightly afraid of him.

Necrid returned, holding a dead deer over his shoulder. The man yanked off one of the deer's legs and handed it to Talim.

"Here, eat." Necrid offered, yanking a leg for himself and eating the meat raw. If the girl had considered him to be human, his body appeared to have been altered to appear inhuman. His appetite was like a wolf's and he had no problem eating raw meat.

Talim peeled some of the meat off of the leg and stuck a stick through it. She began to roast it on the fire, knowing that Necrid might be able to eat raw meat, but she couldn't.

Unknown to Necrid or Talim, Spawn watched what was going on from the distance.

"Ah, I see you have turned traitor. Well, we'll just have to kill you too." Spawn spoke to Necrid, but he was too far away for either Talim or Necrid to hear him. "Aeon."

The large leader of the lizardmen appeared from the behind and let out a low hiss in response.

"Kill them all." Spawn ordered.

The lizardman nodded in agreement and Spawn vanished in a small explosion of purple smoke. Aeon rose drew his blade and pointed towards Talim and the traitor. Dozens of lizardmen began to gather around their leader, preparing to attack.

Necrid stared at the girl as she ate her food. Why did he care for her when he had been ordered to kill her? He had never shown mercy before. Why now? As Talim ate, she moved her broken leg and cringed. Necrid's eyes seemed to contain sadness as he saw the girl in pain.

"Monster." Necrid said, referring to himself as the term that so many others had used to describe him. In his eyes, it was correct.

"No, you're wrong." Talim argued.

"But…"

Necrid suddenly leapt into the air and brought his claw down on a lizardman that had tried to attack Talim from behind. Talim jumped from the sudden movement and then turned around to see a large cloud of dust approaching them.

"They come!" Necrid growled.

"What?" Talim questioned. She realized the cloud of dust were actually dozens of lizardmen charging towards them, causing dirt and dust to fly as they ran.

"Leave." Necrid ordered.

"But what about you?" Talim questioned, unwilling to leave. She couldn't abandon him, not since she had finally gotten through to him.

"Save yourself!" The Necrid yelled. "Go. You can't help me now. No one can."

Necrid swiped at Talim, causing her to jump backwards. He gave her an evil glare. Talim ran hoping to find Link and Taki. If she could find them in time, they might be able to save Necrid.

Necird turned his attention to the small army of lizardmen charging him. He wondered why he was risking his own life for a total stranger, a stranger he had been sent to kill. Necrid killed one lizardman after another with his claw. A blade made of green energy appeared in his human hand and he stabbed another lizardman with it, killing it instantly. The blade caused the lizard's leathery skin to sizzle as it burnt a hole through.

Although Necrid fought with his entire being, the lizardman began to overpower him. Five of them jumped on top of him, trying to pin him to the ground.

"_Necrid, please don't go!" The woman yelled from Necrid's visions. The woman ran up to him and flung her arms around him in a firm hug, refusing to let him go. _

"_I'm sorry Allanna, but I must." Necrid spoke, pulling the woman's arms off of him. "This entire town has been cursed, and someone needs to break it. Our people have suffered enough and I'm going to put a stop to it." _

"_But you could be killed." The woman cried. _

"_Then I will die doing the honorable thing. Please give this to Eric." Necrid handed a knight's blade to the woman. "Please tell our children I will always love them, and make sure Eric knows that being a warrior isn't just being a good fighter. A warrior draws on strength from within to protect those in need." _

"_I will my love." The woman answered. _

_The two kissed each other passionately, and then Necrid turned and left, never to be seen again, but always remembered. _

"I remember!" Necrid roared. Supernatural strength overtook the man and he threw all the lizardmen off him. "I remember!"

Necrid used his powers to make another blade of energy appear into his free hand as he began to kill one lizardman after another.

"I remember who I am now and why I sought Soul Edge. Jack, Elana, Eric…Allanna, I will make you proud."

Talim ran through the forest as fast as her sore leg could take her until she bumped into a muscular figure.

"Link!" She cried, bearing her head into his chest, tears beginning to form.

"Talim, down!" Link ordered. Link leapt over Talim and instantly killed two lizardmen with his blade.

By now, Taki and the other warriors had caught up.

"Talim, thank goodness you're safe." Taki spoke.

"Where's that stinking monster? I'm going to give it a piece of my mind." Yun-Seong snarled.

"Oh no! Necrid!" Talim cried. "Link, we need to help Necrid."

"Necrid, who's that?" Cassandra asked.

"There's no time to explain. Come on, Link. He needs your help." Talim grabbed Link by the arm and began to pull him.

"Wait, you'll need these." Yun-Seong handed Talim her elbow blades.

Talim lead the other warriors to where Necrid had been fighting to see a swarm of lizardmen on top of him, slashing and biting at him.

"No! Get off him!" Talim screamed, grabbing her blades.

The lizardmen looked up towards the girl and drew their weapons. There had to be around fifty of them.

Talim and the other warriors had their weapons for battle, although a victory in this fight seemed impossible.

"Link, get everyone out of here." Taki ordered. "There is no way this fight can be won. I'll hold them off."

"No way, we're not leaving you to those things." Cassandra argued.

"Look, either one of us dies or we all die. Link needs to live, and I'm the only one that can buy you enough time. Now go!" Taki shouted.

"No one else dies." Link informed, walking in front of the group with his sword drawn. The symbol on his left arm began to glow again.

"Link?" Cassandra asked.

'He's going to use his power again.' Talim thought.

"Back." Link ordered as he drew his sword and blue lightning went around it. Everyone stepped away from Link as he jumped into the air and spun around with his sword out. Blue mist began to form around his body as he charged his spell.

"Ether!" Link yelled as he released a powerful blizzard out of his blade. The blizzard froze every lizardman on the spot."

"Now!" Link ordered.

The warriors rushed in and began to slash and destroy the frozen lizardmen before they could unthaw; creating a swift and easy victory for them. Once the battle was over, Talim looked for Necrid, and saw the man lying on the ground, covered in blood and injuries. His eyes were closed and he wasn't moving a muscle.

"Necrid!" Talim cried, kneeling down next to him. Tears began to flow down her cheeks.

"Wait a minute." Yun-Seong asked. "Isn't that the thing that tried to kill us a few hours ago?

Link knelt down and tried to find a pulse, but he couldn't. It was too late. Strangely though, it seemed as if the beast was smiling, as if he finally found peace.

"Sorry." Link apologized to the crying girl. "No can save life. Can give happy later life."

Link took out his ocarina and began to play a song that he had learned that healed tattered souls. The song was sad and mysterious, yet it seemed to make them feel better. Once Link finished playing the song, Necrid's body began to glow. It then vanished and in its place remained a small monument dedicated to the warrior.

"Now he rest happy." Link informed.

Talim, having a relative understanding of what Link had just done, stood up and faced the elf.

"Thank you, Link."

"Whoa, hold on now. What is going on?" Yun-Seong stared at the monument in confusion. "Why are we crying over some monster, and how did Link just freeze fifty lizardmen? Finally, what just happened here?"

"I'll explain later." Talim offered.

As they walked towards camp, Talim explained how Necrid really wasn't a monster, just a man in great pain and with a heart of gold. Since her leg was broken, Link willingly carried Talim the whole way. There seemed to be hint of jealousy from both Yun-Seong and Cassandra as Talim seemed just a little too pleased to be carried by Link.

Once they returned to camp, Taki inspected Talim's leg. Taki had extended medical knowledge, and was able to treat Talim's leg, considering the lack of resources they had. Everyone was surprised, except for Cassandra.

"Are you O.K. Talim?" Taki asked the girl.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Where did you learn to be such a good doctor?" The girl asked.

"I was talking about your friend's death." Taki responded. "I know what it's like to lose people close to you. I would like to say that this won't happen again, but if you continue on this journey, more deaths will occur."

"I won't turn back." Talim announced. Necrid's death had only encouraged her to carry on. "I won't give up. I'm staying."

Talim could have sworn that she saw a proud smile cross Taki's face, but it was hard to say because of the metal mask that covered her mouth.

Link sat against a tree, playing his ocarina. He tried to relax after the day's events. Death was nothing new to him. Countless numbers of innocent people died during the war against Ganondorf. He had hoped that this mission would be different, that this world would be different. He knew he was wrong though. No matter where he went, death would always be around the corner, taking lives he hated to see lost.

Link suddenly stopped playing his ocarina as he sensed a pair of eyes on him. They were hidden in the tree, but it was the same red eyes that had been watching him so many nights ago. As soon as Link saw the red eyes, he jumped up and gave pursuit.

"Wait!" Link yelled, giving chase.

"Link, what's going on?" Cassandra yelled, as she and the others got up and tried to catch up with the elf.

Link easily caught the person, which hadn't been difficult since the person was rather small. Link grabbed the person's arm, stopping them as they headed towards the edge of a cliff. It was her, the same red-headed girl he had saved when he had first appeared in this world. What was she doing here?

The girl had a look of terror in her face as Link held on her arm firmly.

"So, I have finally caught you." A sinister woman's voice spoke.

Link looked up from the young girl and saw the white-haired woman at the edge of the cliff; her strange whip-blade was in the shape of a normal blade, but with a flick of her wrist, the blade transformed into the metal whip.

"Hello elf." The woman spoke to Link. "I see you survived. I would hate to leave you to die a second time, so I suggest you just hand the girl over, and no one will get hurt."

Taki and the others were able to catch up to Link and the ninja's face suddenly froze.

"Ivy?" Taki gasped.

"Hello Taki." The white haired woman greeted in a malevolent tone. "It is nice to see you again."

"You know her?" Cassandra asked her friend.

"Too well." Taki admitted. "Link, be careful. She is extremely dangerous, even for you."

Link nodded. He knew all too well of that.

"You three stay here." Taki told Yun-Seong, Cassandra, and Talim. "Link, protect the girl. I'll deal with Ivy."

Taki rushed towards her old nemesis, but before she could reach her enemy, a samurai jumped down from the threes and slashed at her. Taki easily blocked the attack and jumped back.

"Mitsurugi." Taki hissed.

"Taki." The samurai responded. He had long dark hair and black whiskers on his chin. His chest and shoulders were covered with armor but he wore simple baggy pants over his legs.

"Why would an honorable warrior such as yourself be serving a child murdering witch like Ivy?" Taki demanded.

"Nothing personal." The samurai responded. "I'm a mercenary and she hired me to fight for her. We currently have a common goal, and, by the looks at it." He faced Taki with a hardened look. "A common enemy."

Taki drew her second blade and prepared for battle. Taki knew that it would take everything she had to defeat one warrior, but to defeat the two would be impossible.

"Link, take care of Ivy. I'll deal with Mitsurugi."

Link nodded and pushed the girl behind him.

"I warned you." The white haired woman that Link now knew as Ivy snarled, her calm voice becoming that like daemons. "Now you will suffer the wrath of my blade."

Ivy used magic to make her whip blade separate and fly towards Link like a dozen of deadly arrows.

"You no hurt girl." Link informed with a deadly tone.

The three triangle's on Link's left hand began to glow and a gold aura surrounded his body as he called upon his magic. A blue, diamond shaped barrier went around Link and the girl, protecting them from Ivy's attack as the shards of the whip bounced off the barrier.

Link drew his blade, and swung it in the air in Ivy's direction. The blade released a powerful blast that cut through the ground and hit the white haired woman, knocking her off her feet. Link turned to the samurai who was going to head to head with Taki. With another powerful swing of his blade, Link sent out a blast of wind towards the samurai. The samurai raised his own blade to block the attack, but was still knocked off his feet.

Mitsurugi jumped next to his employer.

"That power." Ivy gasped. "It's unbelievable."

"I see we are outmatched." The samurai commented. "I think we need a tactical retreat."

The samurai threw a smoke bomb and the two villains vanished.

Link fell to all fours, panting. Using his Triforce twice in one day drained him of his energy.

"Link, get out of there!" Taki yelled.

Link noticed the ground underneath him was cracking due to his blast. Link got to his feet and grabbed the girl, but before they could react, the ledge fell off of the cliff with Link still on it. Even as brave warrior fell, he was still trying to protect the girl from the rocks that were falling on top of them by using his body as a shield.

He readers, sorry it is taking longer for me to update my stories now. Thanks for staying with me though. I would like to explain something about Link's streanght and how the triforce of curage works though before I end this chapter. Link has several levels of power that he can use. He first level of power is when he doesn't use the power of the triforce. He fights most often at this level but may occassinally call upon the powers of the triforce to give his magic slightly greater streangth. His second level of power is when he is drawing more streanght from the Triforce of Courage. In this stage he can use extremly powerful magic and a gold Aurua will usually surround his body. His streanght and speed are also enhanced at this level. This second level of power is what he has used to defeat the lizardmen and just recently Ivy and Mitsurugi. This level of power is also very draining on the body though, as you have all noticed. Link's final level of power is when he activates his magic power and calls upon as much streanght from the Triforce as he can manage. However, using this much power drains him of even more energy then his second level of streanght and he only uses it as a last resort. Think of these levels of power like Goku's super seiyan froms from Dragon Ball Z. Link's normal form is like a normal seiyan. Link's second level of power is like a Super Seiyan 1 or 2, and his final form of power is like a Super Seiyan 3. Well that's all for now. Until next time.


	11. Chapter 10 Return of Knightmare

I do not own Soul Calibur or Zelda. Zelda is owned by Nintendo, and Soul Calibur is owned by Namco Bandai Games

Ch. 10 Return of Nightmare

On their island, Majora and his followers planned their final evil deed. Nature itself seemed to be reacting to their plan, for the sky was filled with dark clouds as lightning lit up the sky and thunderous booms could be heard for miles.

"It's hard to imagine that just this one shard is all that's needed to awaken Soul Edge." Tira grinned.

"Yes Tira, you have done very well. With all of those souls trapped in that shard, it will be enough to awaken the sword from its slumber and once again rise. Inferno and I will not only distort this world, but the world of Hyrule as well."

"When do we strike, master?" Tira asked.

"Now."

******

"Well, good night Sheik. Have pleasant dreams." Xianghua yawned as she went into her room for the night.

"Thank you, Xianghua. You have a good night as well." Sheik responded, as he went into his room where Siegfried was already resting.

Maxi watched as the two went into their rooms. He couldn't deny that Xianghua was beautiful. No man would do that. However, there was something about her that stopped him from flirting with the Chinese girl, and he didn't understand why. If he had met any other woman with that kind of beauty, he be wooing her until she was all his. Yet, he couldn't bring himself to do such a thing with Xianghua besides the occasional tease. It was as if he saw her as his younger sister. Yes, he had only known her for about a week. He sighed. He would sort it out in the morning. He was tired from another long day at sea and wanted his rest. He was determined to find where Sheik had hidden Soul Edge, but wherever he looked, he couldn't find it. The guy was obviously a master of tricks.

Sheik noticed Siegfried had not gone to bed yet. The knight was staring at Soul Calibur. Sheik had sensed a small bit of its power awaken when Siegfried and Cervantes' blades collided. However, the power that had awakened in the blade was not nearly enough to defeat the pirate, and especially not Soul Edge. Sheik couldn't help but wonder if Soul Calibur was really the blade of salvation everyone spoke about, or if it yet another blade made purely to give its owner power. He wonder about how much Siegfried really knew about Soul Calibur.

"What are you thinking about?" Sheik asked.

"Nothing really. Just old memories." The knight responded. "And that no matter how much good I do now, I'll never be able to fully atone my past sins."

"Those who can't let go of dark memories will forever be haunted and destroyed by them." Sheik warned.

"True, but when you have sinned as much as I have in the past, you can't help but wonder where you'll end up where you die."

Siegfried walked over to the box Sheik had hidden Soul Edge in. It wasn't Cervantes' Soul Edge, but the real Soul Edge. It had remained in Sheik's and Siegfried's room, hidden where no one could find it. Thank goodness Maxi or one of the other's hadn't found it yet, or they would have to do a lot of explaining.

As Siegfried checked Soul Edge, the eye of the blade began to glow, and Siegfried stumbled backwards from the blade, holding his head with both hands and growling in pain. Siegfried looked up to see his fight hand was no longer his hand, but Nightmare's monstrous claw. He was coming under Soul Edge's influence again. He was becoming Nightmare!

"No!" Siegfried cried weakly.

"Siegfried!" Sheik ran over to his friend's side and grasped his right arm. "It's not real, it's only an illusion. Soul Edge is trying to play tricks with your mind. Don't let it."

Siegfried once again looked at his arm. It was back to normal. It wasn't real. Thank God.

"Thank you, Sheik." Siegfried thanked his friend.

"It was nothing. Be careful though. Even with my powers, Soul Edge can still influence your mind in certain ways."

"I will be careful from now on." Siegfried assured.

"Good, now get some sleep." Sheik ordered.

The crew slept as the ship rocked back and forth, unknowing they were about to have a visitor. Sheik suddenly awoke from his dream. His mind was much better trained than the others, and he could sense a dark presence arriving.

Sheik ran outside to find a green-clothed girl with blue hair. She seemed innocent enough, but Sheik could tell by looking into the child's eyes that she was deranged.

"You must be Sheik." The girl announced. "It is a real pleasant to meet you. I'm curious though. You see, I never got to kill a Hylian before. I would like to know if your blood looks like just like a human's, or if it is much more enjoyable to watch it flow out of your body. Wait, don't tell me, I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise."

The girl withdrew a large metal hula-hoop-shaped ring that she wore crisscrossed around her body. She and Sheik took their battle stances and prepared.

"Oh wait, that's right." The girl corrected herself. "I almost forgot. I have to give this shard to my other master. I can't keep him waiting. I'll just have to watch Inferno kill you instead. Don't worry, I'll enjoy every minute of it."

The girl ran toward Sheik and began to leap over him. Sheik was about to stop her, when a whip made of what appeared to be human organs wrapped around his neck and pulled him to the ground, dragging him to his new attacker.

"Sorry, but I can't let you interfere with our plans, your highness." A black ghost-like figure spoke. Sheik's eyes widened when he saw the mask the person wore.

"Majora. So, you truly do exist."

"Correct, and I think I will kill you now so you can't interfere with our plans any longer." Majora prepared his attack. Several more organ-like whips wrapped around Sheik's body and limbs, rendering him helpless.

Sheik could feel the whips tighten around him, trying to squeeze his life away, but he wouldn't give in so easily.

"Don't think you'll defeat me that easily." Sheik informed. A Triforce marking began to glow on Sheik's hand, and a burst of energy escaped from his body, releasing him from Majora's grip, and knocking his opponent down.

"Everyone get up!" Sheik shouted. "We're under attack!"

Sheik quickly jumped out of the way as another whip flew in his direction.

Siegfried awoke to the sight of Tira staring down at him with her childlike innocent face, though what she planned was far from innocent.

"Who are you?" Siegfried asked, confused by the girl's innocent looks at first.

"My name is Tira." The girl informed. "I'm here to bring you back to your old self…master."

Upon hearing this, Siegfried quickly grabbed Soul Calibur and swung it at the girl, but she leapt into the air and avoided the attack. Tira removed the fragment she had worked so hard to collect souls in and threw it towards the box that contained Soul Edge.

"Play nice." Tira giggled. "Or preferably, don't play nice."

The evil girl ran out of the room. Siegfried was about to throw the shard out the window before it could be absorbed into Soul Edge, but as he reached down to pick it up, the shard began to glow red, and Siegfried grasped his head once again.

"No, never again!" The knight roared. "I will not let you take over this time, Inferno!"

The power of the shard was just enough to awaken Soul Edge. The crate the blade had been kept in exploded and the shard fused with Soul Edge.

Siegfried howled an even more painful scream as an evil red aura encompassed the blade.

"There she is! Stop her!" Kilik yelled, as he and Xianghua chased after the blue-haired girl.

As the wicked girl turned the corner, Maxi stepped in front of her, trying to head her off, but she was able to jump over the pirate and make her escape towards Sheik and Majora's battle.

Sheik was held his own against the masked figure, dodging the whips and throwing handfuls of needles at Majora. The needles went through Majora's cape, but didn't seem to faze him.

"Master, I'm done!" Tira cheered.

"Excellent work, my servant. Now it's Inferno's turn to have his fun." The masked figure used his powers to teleport himself and Tira off the ship.

Maxi, Xianghua, and Kilik ran out to the deck, just in time to see the two intruders vanish.

"What was that all about?" Maxi asked.

All four of the warriors heard a monstrous roar coming from underneath the deck.

"What was that?" Kilik asked.

All four warriors quickly jumped out of the way as a blast of dark flames flew in their direction. Walking on deck towards them was no other than Nightmare himself. The monster's face alone sent chills down Kilk and Xianghua's spines as they remembered him. The monster's dark armor covered his body as he held his giant blade in his human-like hand so he could use his monster-like hand to rip through his opponents' flesh. Both of the monster's eyes glowed red behind his helmet.

"Finally! I am reborn and all of my enemies are in one place! I can take revenge on you for what you have done to me, especially you two." Nightmare pointed towards Xianghua and Sheik.

"Why does Soul Edge hate you?" Xianghua asked Sheik.

"Long story." Sheik responded.

Nightmare held up Soul Edge and released a mighty roar. The blade was now in the form Xianghua and Kilik recognized. A blade made of both metal and red skin and was as large as its owner. The red eye on Soul Edge began to glow as the weaker Soul Edge hovered next to Nightmare. The monster put his larger, more powerful blade in his daemon hand as he grabbed Cervantes' blade in his human hand.

"Now, prepare to die!" Nightmare roared.

"We'll just have to see about that!" Kilik growled, grabbing his bow staff.

"No, wait!" Sheik yelled, but the three warriors didn't listen. They charged Nightmare without regarding the consequences

"Fools!" Nightmare laughed. "Are you truly so ignorant of the power I possess!?"

Nightmare slammed his blade into the ground, creating a sphere of flames to form around his body and expand towards Xianghua, Kilik, and Maxi. The powerful blast knocked all three warriors backwards through the air and destroyed much of Maxi's ship.

Maxi was hit the hardest by the blast and fell unconscious. Kilik and Xianghua rose to their feet to fight.

"He's much more powerful now." Kilik grimaced.

"Yeah, but we can't give up." Xianghua announced, grabbing her blade from the floor.

Kilik and Xianghua charged towards Nightmare and attacked the monster. Kilik lunged at Nightmare with his bow staff, slashing at him as she forced him to walk backwards. Nightmare may have been very powerful, but Kilik remembered being quicker than him. However, because Nightmare now had two blades, he was able to block the monk's attacks much easier. The monster kicked Kilik in the stomach, knocking the wind out of the warrior monk and caused him to fall to the ground. The monster raised the real Soul Edge. The eye in the middle of the blade began to glow as he was about to take Kilik's soul, but Xianghua jumped and kicked at Nightmare, knocking him away from her friend.

"You wish to be my first victim? So be it." Nightmare snarled towards the girl.

Xianghua pretended to stab at Nightmare, causing the monster to fall for the trick, giving Xianghua an opening. She quickly spun her sword in a circle, slashing at the monster. Nightmare growled as Xianghua magic sword was able to pierce his arm and cut his skin. Xianghua slashed at Nightmare again, but the monster jumped back, avoiding the attack. Nightmare set the weaker Soul Edge down and switched hands with the real Soul Edge so that he could use his claw against Xianghua in battle. When Xianghua attack Nightmare this time the monster grabbed her arm and threw her as hard as he could. Xianghua hit the wall of the ship, but she was thrown so hard she when through the wood.

"Pathetic." Nightmare growled.

Maxi looked up and two people that for some reason he found a deep carrying for lying on the ground, either dead or severely injured. "You monster!" Maxi roared. "You will die for this."

Maxi didn't care that his ship was on fire or that Nightmare had the power to destroy a small army, the monster would pay. Maxi had already lost his crew to one beast; he wouldn't lose Kilik and Xianghua to another.

Maxi charged Nightmare at full speed. The monster swung his blade at the pirate. Maxi dodged Nightmare's blow and kicked the monster in the face. The pirate drew his nunchaku and released his fury on Nightmare. Nightmare blocked most of the blows with Soul Edge, but the pirate's weapon was different to fight against, giving the monster a hard time. In the midst of the battle, Nightmare swung his head and head butted Maxi, stunning the pirate. With Maxi in a daze, Nightmare grabbed the pirate and smashed him through the floorboards of his own ship.

"Well, that takes care of that." Nightmare chuckled.

Kilik tried to get to his feet with the use of his bow staff for support, but Nightmare put his foot on Kilik's back, forcing the monk down.

"I guess the only question now is whose soul do I take first?"

Nightmare kicked Kilik across the ship for pure amusement.

"Then again, I could always delay your suffering a little bit." The monster chuckled maliciously.

"Siegfried, stop!" Sheik ordered.

"You!" Nightmare turned around to face the figure with a hateful glare. "I almost forgot about you. Judging by the fact that you never charge into battle fool hardly like your soon-to-be-dead friends here, I guess that makes you slightly wiser."

"Listen to me Siegfried; I don't want to fight you. Don't let Inferno control like you like this!"

"Fool, there is no Siegfried anymore! There is only Nightmare!" The monster shot a blast of powerful flames out of Soul Edge towards Sheik, who quickly jumped into the air and dodged the attack.

Nightmare grabbed his other blade and jumped into the air after Sheik. Nightmare was able to jump over the strange warrior and attack him from the air. Sheik blocked Nightmare's attack, but the very force of the blow caused him to fall towards the ground at an alarming pace. Sheik quickly recovered and jumped out of the way as Nightmare crashed down towards him. Nightmare destroyed the floorboards where Sheik had been standing and continued to attack the warrior. Sheik continued to dodge the monster's attacks and jumped as far away from him as he could

"I didn't want to do this Siegfried, but I'm afraid you leave me no choice. Needle Storm!"

Dozens of needles appeared in front of Sheik, levitating off the ground due to the warrior's magic. Sheik crossed his arms, preparing for the attack and then spread them out, sending the storm of needles towards Nightmare.

Nightmare blocked many of the needles with his two blades, but some managed to hit his armor. Soul Edge somehow protected Nightmare's armor from the attack from the metal needles, which were supposed to have the power to go through armor. The protection only caused the monster to stumble a few steps back.

Sheik drew two ninja daggers and attacked Nightmare from close range. Nightmare and Sheik battled each other furiously, each dodging and blocking the other's attacks. Unable to strike the quick warrior, Nightmare called upon his power. Fire surrounded both of his blades as he swung them at Sheik. Sheik quickly jumped away from Nightmare. Nightmare was able to gain the upper hand due to the burning flames surrounding his sword, and he quickly discarded the weaker Soul Edge once again. He was able to grab Sheik and hold the man tightly in his monstrous hand.

"Now you shall feel my wrath. Prepare to die."

"Siegfried, I know you're still in there." Sheik choked under Nightmare's grip. "Please fight it. I know you can do it."

"Don't be ridiculous." Nightmare sneered. "That fool is totally under my control. There is nothing that you can do to stop me now, your highness."

As Nightmare raised his blade to destroy Sheik, something seemed to hold his arm back. It was as if some invisible force was preventing the monster from using his arm.

"What is this?" Nightmare growled. "How can it be that he is still resisting me? I should have complete control of his body now!"

Nightmare released Sheik and stumbled backwards, his entire body shaking. He was unable to move as if he was paralyzed.

"That's it Siegfried! Fight!" Sheik encouraged.

"I won't allow you to reclaim this body, Siegfried!" Nightmare snarled. "I will crush your will and then I will crush this meddler!"

Sheik could sense that Siegfried was trying to fight Soul Edge's grasp on his as much as possible, but his will was losing its strength. Sheik knew Siegfried may not be able to fight on his own.

"Siegfried, hold on. I'm going to help you." Sheik put his hand on Nightmare's forehead and his Triforce symbol began to glow.

********

Sheik found himself inside the mind of Siegfried and Nightmare. Sheik could only see complete darkness. Soul Edge had almost eradicated Siegfried's mind and would soon have complete control over the knight unless he could fight back. Sheik searched around for Siegfried's presence, knowing the knight had to be nearby. There it was. Sheik looked down and saw Siegfried fighting a large, flaming daemon. Sheik knew that that daemon must be Inferno. Sheik headed towards Siegfried and Inferno to help the knight battle the daemon.

Inferno was a monster made entirely of flames, with the exception of his metal hands and feet, which were shaped like claws. Inferno's held the wicked blade Soul Edge. Siegfried fought valiantly against the monster, using his own large blade, Requiem. Since this battle took place in Siegfried's mind, Soul Calibur didn't exist, or at least Siegfried didn't know how to summon the holy blade.

Siegfried was knocked down by the daemon and flames began to surround his body, consuming the rest of his mind and soul.

"Did you really think you could defeat me?" Inferno challenged. "You are nothing but a puny human!"

"Siegfried!" Sheik called. Using his own powers, Sheik shot a blast of energy out of his hands towards Inferno, knocking the daemon away from Siegfried.

Sheik, how did you get here?" Siegfried asked.

"With my powers. Listen, we have to finish off Inferno now."

"Right." The knight agreed, getting in his fighting position.

Inferno shot a blast of fire at Siegfried and Sheik, but Sheik used his powers to raise a blue barrier shaped like a diamond around them and the two charged towards the daemon.

Siegfried slashed at Inferno several times. Inferno blocked his attacks, and slashed at Siegfried. The knight spun around to dodge the attack and then tried to slash at the daemon again.

Sheik shot a blast of energy out of his hand towards the daemon, causing the daemon to lose its focus on Siegfried and try to block Sheik's attack with Soul Edge instead. Siegfried used the distraction as his chance to slash at Inferno with all of his might, sending the daemon plummeting through the air. Sheik used his powers to levitate himself next to the daemon and shot him into the air with a magical blast. Siegfried then jumped into the air over Inferno and slashed the daemon once more, causing him to crash into the ground.

"I think we did it." Siegfried announced. "Thank you Sheik."

"Don't thank me yet." Sheik announced. "Take a look around. You are not yet completely free from Soul Edge's grasp.

Siegfried looked around and noticed that his mind was covered in darkness. Inferno was still alive.

Inferno burst out of the rubble, angrier than ever that Siegfried was beginning to escape his control once again.

"You think that was enough to defeat me?" Inferno roared. "I am the superior being here. Your mind is nothing compared to mine. I will destroy you both now."

"Siegfried, call upon Soul Calibur." Sheik ordered.

"What?" Siegfried asked.

"Remember, this is your mind, which means that you control it. The only way to defeat the Inferno is to use the spirit of Soul Calibur. Trust me, just believe in yourself."

"Very well." Siegfried closed his eyes, grasping his blade with both hands. He tried to reach out to the spirit of Soul Calibur. Siegfried's blade began to glow blue. Siegfried didn't have time to call upon Soul Calibur before Inferno charged him. Sheik jumped between Inferno and Siegfried, shooting a beam of energy at the daemon. Inferno raised Soul Edge and used as it as shield as he made his way towards Sheik. Sheik's beam was able to slow him down.

"Siegfried, hurry. I can't hold Inferno off for long."

Siegfried's blade suddenly transformed into Soul Calibur and the knight jumped at Inferno. Sheik stopped firing at Inferno as Siegfried and Inferno's weapons collided.

"How did you get that blade? It shouldn't exist in your mind." Inferno demanded.

"I choose what exists in my mind and does not. And I choose for you to not exist any longer." Siegfried growled.

Siegfried avoided another slash at Inferno and stabbed the daemon with Soul Calibur. Inferno screeched painfully as a large explosion occurred from Soul Calibur, striking him. The explosion forced Sheik out of Siegfried's mind.

*******

Sheik looked up to see Siegfried kneeling down. Both Soul Edge blades fell to his side as he held on to Soul Calibur.

"I did it, Sheik!" Siegfried cheered. "Thanks to you, Inferno can no longer control me. I was able to drive him out of my mind permanently.

"I knew you could." Sheik congratulated. "Now, let us destroy Soul Edge and heal our friends."

"I don't think so." Majora interrupted, wrapping his whips around the dark blades and claiming them for himself. "I have to say, I never expected you two would beat Inferno. No matter, when the time comes, no one will survive. Not even you two."

Before Sheik or Siegfried had a chance to stop him, Majora vanished with the two blades.

"No! He got away with the swords." Siegfried growled. "Now what do we do?"

"There is nothing we can do except be happy for the time being. Soul Edge now needs to find a new body. Until he does, he can't harm us."

Sheik healed the other warriors with his magic. Siegfried was shocked to see how many talents Sheik possessed. First he was able to stun Astaroth, then he was able to free him from Soul Edge, and now the mysterious figure could heal lethal wounds.

"What happened?" Xianghua asked after she had been healed by Sheik. "Where's Nightmare?"

"He's gone." Sheik announced. "I doubt we'll see him for a while."

"Did you beat him?" Kilik asked.

"Sort of, but the swords were taken." Siegfried answered.

"What, no!" Xianghua cried. "Wait a minute. What do you mean by 'swords'?"

Sheik looked at Siegfried. It was time that Siegfried explained who he really was.

"I had the real Soul Edge all the time." Siegfried admitted.

"What? Why? That blade is evil." Xianghua was astonished that anyone would willingly keep the blade in their possession.

"I know, and that is exactly why I kept it. I didn't want anyone else to become possessed by it. You see, I'm Nightmare, or at least I was."

"Then it is you we should destroy!" Maxi claimed, ready to attack the knight.

"Restrain yourself until he is finished!" Sheik spoke in a harsh voice.

"I was young and foolish when I found Soul Edge." Siegfried continued. "I thought I could use its powers to bring my father back from the dead, but I was horribly mistaken. The longer I held the sword, the more I became influenced by it until I had no will of my own. I became the monster known as Nightmare. I'm sure even now Soul Edge is probably trying to find a way to take me back under his control."

"Then we'll destroy you so that it can't!" Maxi claimed.

Both Kilik and Xianghua tried to attack Siegfried, but Sheik stepped in the way, blocking their blows.

"Stop fighting, you fools. This will not solve anything." Sheik announced, shoving the two warriors with his magic. The two warriors stumbled backwards a few steps, but were all too ready to attack again.

"He has to be killed!" Xianghua announced. "He has to pay for his sins and for what he did. It's called justice."

"This isn't justice!" Sheik growled. "This is you two trying to kill a man because you hate him. Xianghua, when I gave you your weapon, you promised me that you would never strike out in anger or for revenge. Isn't that what you are doing?"

Xianghua lowered her weapons and looked down, ashamed for her behavior.

"I'm sorry, Siegfried. I did not tell you, but I was worried this would be your reaction. Besides, we all have our secrets. We do not ask you about yours, so it is not our duty to tell you about ours" Sheik turned his head, looking at the warriors, including Maxi who had now joined Kilik and Xianghua, ready to attack at any moment. "I know everyone here has sinned sometime in their past." Once again, Sheik moved his head, looking at each of the warriors. His gaze seemed to rest on Kilik's face for a longer time than the others. "I realize Siegfried as sinned more than the rest of us, but he deserves his chance for redemption. He wants to make things right, and I believe that he is the only one who can help us."

"Fine, but once we reach shore; we're going our own ways." Maxi informed.

"I doubt that's a good idea." Sheik warned.

"And why not?" Maxi asked.

"First of all, Siegfried holds Soul Calibur." Sheik announced as Siegfried held the blade up for the others to see. "As we all know, that is the only way to destroy Soul Edge. Currently, the blade has chosen Siegfried to wield it, just as it chose Xianghua four years ago."

"How did you know that?" Xianghua asked in a gasp. She hadn't shared that information with Siegfried or Sheik.

"Unfortunately, the bond between Soul Edge and me at that time was so strong; I knew everything that wretched blade made me do. I understand your hatred towards me and I understand why you would want me dead. There have been times when I have considered that option myself. I'm not asking for forgiveness, I realize I don't deserve that, but I do want the chance to make amends for my sins before I die."

"Well, if you have the means to destroy Soul Edge, then that is a good enough reason to take you along. What about you though, Sheik. Why should we take you with us?" Maxi questioned

"Simple. You will travel in circles without me. So far, it has been me who has guided us and kept us alive, whether you wish to admit it or not. Also, Soul Edge is not alone in his journey to plunge this world into darkness. He has a very powerful ally known as Majora. I didn't know if the stories are true, but I doubt so many people have been mistaken. Majora is a powerful daemon trapped in a mask, just as Inferno is trapped in Soul Edge. However, even while he is trapped in the mask, he is extremely powerful. According to the legends, he came from a different world, a world he nearly destroyed by trying to crash a moon into his planet. If it hadn't been for a brave hero who sacrificed himself to save that world, it would no longer exist."

"How do you know all of this?" Maxi questioned

"Because I am from that world." Sheik admitted. "Once this world is destroyed, Soul Edge and Majora will move on to mine. I will not let either world be destroyed by those two. That is why I have come to help."

"So, Soul Calibur really chose you this time?" Xianghua asked Siegfried.

"Yes, it did." Siegfried admitted.

"Well, I guess we still need to stick together." Xianghua suggested. "What do you think Maxi? Kilik?"

Kilik nodded in agreement. After all, once he thought about it, at one point in his life, he hadn't been any better a person than Siegfried.

"Oh fine, they can stay." Maxi agreed. "But I'm watching you two." Maxi pointed towards Siegfried and Sheik. "Now everyone hurry up and help. With the amount of damage that this ship has taken, I don't know if it'll stay afloat for very long."

'_I will also be watching you, Maxi.'_ Sheik thought to himself. There was something about the pirate's motives he didn't like.


	12. Chapter 11 Link's Greatest Strength

Ch. 11 Link's Greatest Strength

A lone gentleman entered the halls of his mansion. He seemed dreary and tired from his journey to find Soul Edge. The man was attractive with a slim but strong build and blond hair. He clearly came from a wealthy class. His black clothing was that a noble would wear, and at his side was a rapier. His skin and eyes betrayed his wealthy appearance. His skin was as pale as a ghost, and his eyes were red.

The man looked around the halls of his mansion in shock. It appeared a battle had taken place. Statues of armor had been destroyed, pictures were smashed, and curtains were ripped apart. On the ground were the dead bodies of his servants.

"No! Amy!" The man yelled, rushing down the hall and bursting into a room.

This room was in just as bad shape as the hall. The bed, covered by a gauzy canopy, was torn into shreds and the windows were ripped off their hinges. The closet door was smashed and stuffed animals were destroyed.

Fury overcame the man. He clenched his fists so hard; he felt he could have shattered the bones. Whoever had done this would pay. He would not only kill them, but turn their lives into a living hell. They would look forward to the day they died.

"I told you to join us, but you wouldn't listen." A deep, dark voice announced from behind the nobleman.

The nobleman spun around, his rapier drawn and pointed at the figure's throat. He knew this figure all too well. Whether or not the figure was a man though, the nobleman couldn't decide. It appeared to be more of a daemon than man. It dressed in black and had glowing green eyes. Chains wrapped around his arms and legs, and spikes protruded from his costume. Hanging around the daemon's neck was a red cape in which the nobleman knew could transform into any weapon the daemon desired.

"I suggest you tell me where my daughter is located, especially if you wish to keep your life." The nobleman threatened the daemon, pointing his blade close to its throat. However, the daemon didn't seem the least bit frightened by the blade or nobleman.

"I've done nothing to the child. When you left her unprotected, the village rose up and attacked this castle."

"Where is she?" The nobleman hissed.

"You think I'm going to help you?" The daemon snorted. "You were offered the chance to join us, and you rejected us. What makes you think I will help you?"

"I know you will, because if you didn't still want my services, you wouldn't be here." The nobleman responded. He knew the daemon well enough to know how he operated.

"Ah, you are perceptive. So be it. Keep in mind it is you who needs us now. I know where your daughter is, and you had best listen if you want to learn her location."

"Very well. Tell me what I must do." The nobleman sheathed his blade. He didn't like being a treated like a servant, especially to some lowly daemon. However, if he was to rescue his daughter, he was willing to accept the treatment for the time being.

************

Link peered down at the young girl as she lay on the ground, unconscious. He knelt down as he checked her vital signs. Good, she was breathing.

_They were both lucky. If it hadn't been for Link's quick thinking, they would have both died. As the two began to fall from the cliff, Link grabbed his hook shot from his bag and fired it into the mountain. Link was tangled by the hook shot as he extended his arm and caught the girl before she could fall past him. Link's muscular arm caught the girl under her stomach, and she released a wheeze of breath as the wind knocked out of her and she blacked out. Link looked down. It was a long ways down. Luckily, the girl had not fallen quickly or Link would not have been able to catch her. The fall would have killed her on impact. _

_Link tried to think of a way he could get out of this predicament. Normally, climbing a cliff like this would be easy for Link, no matter how steep it was. However, climbing with the unconscious girl in his arms would be difficult, especially if the girl woke up and began to struggle. He had a feeling that waking up while dangling from someone's arms as they were climbing a cliff might not be the most heartening thing to wake up to. Link looked down to check his position on the cliff. He was about half way up the cliff. He could simply let go. If he could survive the fall off the edge of Death Mountain, he could survive this fall. However, he had to worry about the girl. If he would lose his footing, the girl would easily die from the fall. Finally, Link inspected the cliff itself. It was jagged with several small ledges sticking out of it. Link could climb down the cliff. Link tossed the girl over his shoulder. Link knew that he might need one of his hands just incase he lost his footing. _

_Link pressed a button on his hook shot, releasing its grip on the mountain. Link and the girl began to freefall. Link landed on a small ridge sticking out of the cliff and quickly leapt off it, jumping from ridge to ridge as he made his way to the ground. At last Link and the girl were safe on solid ground. He set the child down so that he could rest and make sure she was O.K._

The young girl began to stir. As soon as she opened her eyes, she noticed Link peering at her. Fear crossed her face, and she prepared to get up and run. However, Link quickly grabbed the girl and restrained her. She didn't have a rapier to stab him with this time.

"It O.K. I not hurt you." Link assured the girl. He could tell she was scared of him, although he didn't know why.

The girl stopped struggling underneath Link's strong grip and the young warrior released her. She turned her head away from him as if he disgusted her.

"If you're going to kill me, just do it. I'm sick of life anyway." The girl said in a bitter tone. It was a voice that didn't seem to fit a child. It was full of sadness.

"Kill you?" Link was shocked the girl thought he wanted to kill her. However, he knew that explained why she seemed so scared of him. "Link protect you. What your name?"

"Amy." The girl said in almost a whisper.

Even though the girl kept her head turned from Link, she peeked at his face. She was curious. His pointy ears were something she had only heard of in fairy tales, and she liked his blue eyes. They were like a child's eyes, full of life and love. They seemed to contrast with this person's warrior build and face.

Link too couldn't help but feel curious about the girl, but didn't know why she was acting so aloft. It was almost as if she was trying to close herself off from him. Was she just shy, or was there something else? She seemed so depressed for such a young child.

Link placed his hand on the Amy's shoulder to comfort her. He then gave her a comforting smile.

The elf's hand felt warm to Amy. If she had been anyone else, Link's smile would have warmed her heart. However, she was different. Not even Link's kindness could make her pain go away this quickly. The girl peered into Link's eyes once again, facing him and then turning her head away from him.

"You no talkative." Link stated. "It O.K."

Link peered up the cliff, debating whether or not he should attempt to climb it or if it would be better find another way around the cliff.

"We need to get back to my friends." Link announced. "Hop on." Link bent over for the girl climb on to his back. "I carry you."

The girl took a step back from Link, scared. She shook her head no.

"No? We could go around, but it take longer." Link informed.

The girl simply turned her back to Link so she didn't have to see his face, fearing that if she looked into his kind eyes for too long, she would have to go with him.

"You don't have to help me, you know." The girl informed. Her voice was still almost a whisper and seemed to lack emotion.

"I know. I want to." Link pulled out a red apple and a small loaf of bread. He always carried a couple of day's supply of food with him just in case. Link offered the apple to the girl. "Here, have food."

"I'm not hungry." The girl stated. The girl's stomach released a hungry growl.

"Your stomach says different." Link chuckled. "Don't worry. It no fresh, but still O.K."

Link handed the food to the girl, refusing to take no for an answer. The girl glanced at the food cautiously, but eventually her hunger got the best of her. She began to inhale without taking a breath. She hadn't eaten in a while.

Link couldn't help but laugh. "It no go anywhere." He assured.

Link sat and tried to listen to the wind like Talim could. He was looking for guidance. However, the breeze was calm and Link couldn't understand what it was saying. He closed his eyes, trying to concentrate and listen harder. He remembered what Talim told him about listening to the wind.

"_It's about listening with you heart."_ Her words echoed in Link's head as the young warrior continued to concentrate, opening up his heart to the wind.

"Rest." The wind told him.

"Very well." Link agreed, speaking in Hylian. The girl's head seemed to perk up as he spoke. She had finished her food, but as soon as Link turned to face her, she once again turned her head, looking at the ground.

"We rest for tonight. I plan for tomorrow." Link informed.

Amy lay down as Link set up a fire. He was able find twigs and made a pit within seconds. After that, he shot a small ball of flames into the pit, starting the fire. The girl jumped in surprise as she saw the fire come out of Link's hand.

"How…how did you do that?" The girl questioned. Her shock seemed to defeat her quietness.

"Magic." Link commented nonchalantly. It was a simple spell many Hylians knew.

"Liar." The girl hissed. "There's no such thing as magic. It only exists in fairy tales, which are created to feed us lies and false hopes."

Link was shocked by the girl's words. Magic wasn't as abundant in this world as it was in the world of Hyrule, but it still existed in small amounts. He could sense it at times.

"That not true." Link argued, sitting next to the girl.

Sitting by the girl made her uncomfortable, but for some reason Amy resisted the temptation to move away from him.

"Magic exist everywhere. It everywhere in my world. It hidden in this world, but still here. You have to sense it. If no magic, how I do this?" Link once again called up his magic to make a small ball of fire appear in his hand and he began to juggle it. Amy watched in amazement at Link's trick. After a couple of seconds of juggling, Link caught the fireball in his hand and squeezed it, extinguishing it without burning himself.

"How that for trick?" Link asked.

"I still don't believe you." The girl commented.

"I make believer out of you. Get some rest. You want bedtime story?"

"No. I'm fine." The girl said, lying back down and closing her eyes.

As Amy tried to fall asleep, a gentle but cool breeze blew through the air, sending chills down Amy's spine. She shivered and curled into a ball, trying to keep warm. However, it was no use. She had no blanket and her clothing was lightweight. Link took out his own blanket from his bag and wrapped it around the girl gently, tucking her in, just as he had done so many times for Aryll when she was younger. Amy opened up her eyes, surprised to see Link caring for her in such a way.

"You be warm now." Link assured, moving to the other side of the fire and beginning to play his ocarina.

Amy listened attentively to the ocarina's soothing melody. For some reason, this strange man's playing, if he was a man, was the one thing that comforted her and made her feel happy. For the first time in a long time, she felt the music healing her saddened soul. Amy was soon fast asleep, dreaming peaceful dreams with the ocarina echoing gently in her ear.

However, Link was not so lucky. As he slept that night, he had a terrible nightmare.

"So my foolish descendent, you really think you can destroy the evil that has plagued this world?" The wicked voice asked Link.

"How did you get out?" Link questioned. "I sealed you away long ago."

"Don't be so naïve, you fool. When my enemy was revived, so was I."

"I will never release you, even if I have to deal with your taunts during the night."

"Fool! You will never accomplish this task without my power!"

"I accomplished everything without your power. I will never use you power. NEVER!"

"We'll see!" The voice laughed as it faded away.

***********

"Link!" Talim cried, running towards the edge of the cliff Link had fallen over. Taki grabbed Talim before the girl ran straight off after her friend.

"Don't be a fool!" Taki yelled, restraining Talim. "If you go over that edge, you'll be dead for sure."

"What if he's hurt?" Talim cried as she struggled, but Taki kept a firm grip around the girl's waist.

"He's probably dead." Yun-Seong walked over to the edge of the cliff and peered down. "I don't see how anyone could have survived that, not even Elf Boy."

Yun-Seong's voice seemed to depict sadness, even though the rest knew he was trying not to let his emotions show. Even though he disliked Link, he didn't want to see him dead, especially when it would hurt his friend so much.

"No, that can't be!" Cassandra cried. She tried to hold back her tears.

"Don't say that!" Talim growled. "I know he's alive. I can sense his presence."

Once Talim stopped struggling, Taki released her and walked over to the edge of the cliff. She saw no sign of Link or the girl. The ninja had better senses than the other warriors, and if Link was alive, she figured she would be able to detect him. However, the bottom of the mountain was so far down, it was too dark for even Taki's well-trained eyes to see. The ninja closed her eyes, trying to concentrate to find if she could sense Link. She felt nothing.

"I'm afraid your emotions are clouding your senses, Talim. I'm sorry."

"I'm not letting my emotions cloud my judgment. I'll prove it." The girl argued. The girl knelt down and closed her eyes as she began pray to the wind. "Please, great wind. Please tell me if Link has survived."

The wind blew. Talim kept her eyes closed as she listened to its message.

"The wind says he is alive and has told me where to find him." Talim stated.

"Well, let's get to it then." Cassandra stated, ready to go.

"You actually want to follow me?" Talim asked, surprised by Cassandra's sudden enthusiasm.

"Of course." Cassandra replied. "We have a common goal right now, and I'm willing to do anything to find Link."

Talim knew that was the only reason Cassandra was so willing to cooperate. Despite the girls' rivalry over Link, the both cared for him, and were willing to do anything to ensure he was O.K.

********

Amy awoke early in the morning. She usually couldn't sleep at night, but the ocarina had allowed her to fall into a deep sleep. Her rescuer was such an interesting man, full of tricks Amy didn't understand. He had saved her life even after she had tried to kill him, and now he was caring for her as if she meant something to him. Why?

"Good morning." Link greeted the girl. Link fiddled with the fire as a pot of something steamed over it. "Ready for breakfast?" Link asked as he poured the girl a bowl of hot liquid. It was leftover soup his grandmother had given him before his journey. He had planned to save it for emergency, not because his Grandmother's food was terrible to eat. It was actually the most delicious thing Link ever had ever eaten. However, he was wise enough to know he should try to save his packed food for the rare times he couldn't scavenge or fish. He didn't want to leave the girl alone while he searched for food, so he considered this one of those emergency times.

Amy took the bowl of soup apprehensively and blew the steam that rose out of the bowl.

"Be careful, it hot." Link warned, pointing out the obvious. Link poured himself a bowl of soup and began to sip it carefully.

"After we eat, we begin our travels. Yes? You well enough?" Link asked the girl.

"Yes, but I'll go by myself." Amy informed.

"No." Link argued. "You no safe alone. I bring you so you protected. Then you meet friends and find your parents."

With this comment, the girl stared at the ground solemnly. For a second, Link thought she was going to cry, but she didn't. The tears inside her had dried up long ago, and she feared that if she was ever to cry again, she wouldn't be able to stop.

"You lost parents." Link stated. He was able to read the girl's face almost too well. He too knew what it was like to lose his parents. His father had died fighting Ganondorf's army, and his mother died when he was just a boy, trying to bring him to safety. "That happened to me too. You want to…"

"I don't want to talk about it." Amy hissed, interrupting Link in mid sentence. She never did. This man knew nothing of her. He knew nothing of her life or what she had gone through, even if he too had lost his parents.

"Who else can we go to then?" Link asked. He didn't like making the girl feel hurt, but he had to find out who he could bring her to, or at least find out enough about her so he could analyze the situation and find the best solution for her.

"No one." The girl answered bitterly. For the most part, that wasn't a lie. Any of the servants taking care of her were either killed or abandoned her when the villagers attacked. There was her adoptive father; the one person who had ever seemed to sincerely care for Amy. Surely, he would take care of her. However, he was nowhere to be found and she had no idea where he was or when he'd return, assuming that he would return.

"Then I protect you until we find someone. O.K.?" Link asked with a smile, trying to cheer her up, even though he wondered if that would be hopeless. "Come. We have long trip."

Link and Amy continued their travels through a small, rocky desert full of large plateaus and ledges. Link would occasionally close his eyes and try to listen to the wind. He still wasn't able to hear it as well as Talim would, and it took deep concentration to do so, but he was getting better. Luckily, the wind tended to push him in the direction that it wished.

Amy treated Link as if he were a little crazy, especially when he would stop to close his eyes and listen intently to what appeared to be just the wind. Of course, she wasn't gifted with the ability to hear such voices, and she was not willing to believe such gifts existed. She also had a tendency to stay at least ten paces behind Link. This was done on purpose due to her natural distrust towards people. However, if she would fall too far behind, Link would turn around and wait until she reached him before they continued. He would always ask, "You O.K? Need rest?"

"No, I'm fine." Always Amy's response, even when she did feel tired. She didn't want to admit it, fearing it would show a sign of weakness.

Eventually, the constant walking exhausted Amy. She was in good shape, but Link never needed to rest. It seemed he could walk forever. She began to feel overheated from the constant rays of the sun and was no longer paying as much attention to her step. Due to this, Amy tripped on a rock and began to tumble into the hard ground.

Link saw Amy begin to fall, and, with his great speed, caught her before her face hit the ground.

"You O.K?" Link asked the girl with concern. Unlike the other times he had asked Amy if she was O.K., he was no longer smiling. His face registered the same great concern that his voice held.

"I'm fine." The girl responded with a dry voice.

"Here, drink this." Link withdrew a bottle of water from his bag and handed to Amy, who looked strangely at it. "Drink every bit. You need it." Link instructed in a firm tone.

Amy began to drink the water from the bottle. The moist water felt good on her drenched lips and mouth, and she already began to feel better.

As Amy drank, Link leaned over to examine one of her legs. Even though he had caught her, she still had a large scrape on her left leg. Link examined the girl's wound, but as soon as he brought his hand close to the girl, she jerked away from him, almost like a feral animal.

"You hurt." Link responded to the girl's sudden movement in a calm voice. "I need to look. Don't worry." Link's voice returned to its friendly and almost child-like tone. He didn't want to be stern with girl or frighten her, but he knew he needed to treat her wounds.

Amy stared at Link, who merely smiled and didn't make a move towards her. She didn't know what it was about him, but something in those eyes and the way he smiled made her trust him. It wasn't a large amount of trust, but it was enough. She allowed him to inspect her wounds. He had, after all done, been nothing but kind to her so far.

Amy stretched out her leg and let Link look at it. Link decided it wasn't a major wound, but he still wanted it to be treated. It could easily be infected in the wilderness. Link removed two items from his bag; a piece of cloth to wrap Amy's leg with, and a blue walking cane. Link wrapped the cloth around the girl's leg carefully, making sure not to cause her any discomfort. He then took the walking cane and pointed towards her wound. At first, Amy thought the cane was going to be used for walking. She was wrong. An eerie blue light glowed around the cane, and Amy suddenly felt her pain soothe away. It was cool and peaceful, and as soon as Link finished using the cane, her wound felt much better.

Once Link finished healing the girl, he picked her up and put her on his back. Amy instantly began to object. "What are you doing? Put me down!" She yelled, showing emotion for the first time. It was the most she had spoken to Link.

"You still tired. I can see." Link responded. Even though her thirst was mostly drenched and her wound healed, she was still exhausted from traveling. Link blamed himself for that. He knew most people couldn't keep up with him and he knew he should have insisted they take a break, even if it meant he claimed he needed the break.

"Don't worry." Link assured. "You need rest. I do this many times before and used to it. We travel faster this way."

Amy didn't know whether to argue or not. He seemed harmless, and appeared to be as stubborn as she was on the topic. She knew there wouldn't be any winning this battle. Plus, she was exhausted.

"O.K. fine." She sighed.

Link wasn't kidding when he said they would move faster. Amy watched as the landscape zoomed past. Even with Amy on his back, the elf moved as fast as a horse.

As night fell, Link set the girl down so she could walk. She seemed more than refreshed now, and Link could see lights off in the distance, indicating a town nearby.

"Good, town." Link responded. He looked forward to the chance of exploration and they could stock up on supplies. "We can get supplies and shelter."

"You'll stand out." Amy warned. "The townspeople may not be friendly towards you."

"Oh." Link responded. He remembered how everyone gaped at him when they saw his ears. So far, only Talim, Taki, Cassandra, and Yun-Seong accepted him. He wondered how other people felt about him in this world. In Link's world, the races existed peacefully for the most part. He was beginning to wonder if this world would ever be that way.

Link nodded and smiled in agreement with Amy's statement. He withdrew a hooded cape from his bag and put it on. The cape covered his ears and part of his mouth and chin, but Link didn't bother trying to hide most of his face or blue eyes.

"This work?" The elf asked.

Amy nodded yes.

"Thank you." Link thanked the girl. "Come, let's get supplies."

As Link walked in front of her, Amy whispered in a tone too quiet even for Link's ears to pick up, "You're welcome."

The town turned out to be further away then they had thought, so Link and Amy set up camp. Link made a campfire with magic. He figured they could rest for the night and then head into town in the morning.

Link again gave his blanket to Amy and played his ocarina, causing the girl to drift into a peaceful sleep. Link also found himself falling asleep. Carrying the girl across the desert for several hours had depleted more of his strength than he had anticipated, and he found himself drifting off.

After a couple of hours, Link's eyes suddenly burst open, alert to a threat. He peered into the darkness, and then peered through the campfire. The threat stood on the other side of the fire. It was the black-haired samurai who had been working with the white-haired woman.

The man leaned across a rock and smiled. Why hadn't he attacked yet? Link wasn't about to find out. He drew his blade, ready for a fight.

"Amy, get up!" Link hollered, waking the girl from her sleep.

"What?" She asked, still half-asleep. She gasped when she saw the samurai standing less than ten feet away from her.

"Run towards town. I fight him." Link instructed.

"The child has nothing to worry about, my friend." The Samurai informed. "I suggest she simply stay clear of our battle and she will be just fine."

"Why you not attack in our sleep." Link wondered.

"There is no honor in attacking a sleeping opponent. When I kill you, I expect you to be awake and fighting back."

"You were sent here." Link guessed.

"Yes and no. I was hired to kill anyone who gets in my employer's way. You are the strongest opponent, even stronger than Taki. It is you I wish to fight."

"O.K." Link responded in a harsh voice.

The samurai drew his blade and slashed through the air, sending a sharp gust of wind that could cut through the earth. It was the same battle tactic Link had used to defeat the white haired woman.

Link grabbed Amy and jumped high into the air, avoiding the attack as it slashed through the campfire and ground underneath their feet. Link landed and set Amy far away so he knew the samurai's attack couldn't reach her.

"Hide and take cover." Link instructed. He then turned to his opponent. "How did you learn that?" The elf demanded.

"Simple. I watched you." The samurai responded.

Link and the samurai charged towards each other, swords clanging as they met. The warrior's speed and strength were identical to Taki's, making him a deadly foe. The two master swordsmen constantly slashed at each other, while at the same time, spinning and performing back flips to avoid the other's attack. They were almost too equally matched. Link knew he could always tap into his Triforce fragment for more power, but he knew the consequences of doing so. If he exhausted his energy supply against this opponent, he wouldn't be able to protect Amy from the white haired woman if she was with this samurai.

The samurai jumped backwards to avoid another of Link's attacks and then jumped high into the air. Link swung his sword, sending a cutting blast of wind in the samurai's direction. The samurai sent his own blast of wind to cancel out Link's. As soon as the samurai landed, Link charged, and the two blades met. Both warriors pressed against the other's blade.

At this close of proximity, the samurai was able to see the elf's eyes. They were full of strength and ferocity due to his willingness to protect his loved ones. There was something else under the eyes though. Dark circles.

With Link already exhausted, the samurai felt he could win. He didn't count on Link's steady supply of energy that pushed back at the samurai's attacks. Link broke away from the locked blades and slashed at the samurai once more, who jumped back from Link and sheathed his sword.

"You're stopping?" Link asked shocked.

"Yes, for two reasons." The samurai responded. "One, you're holding back. You had much more power when you fought my employer. Two, you're tired. I can see those bags under your eyes, boy. You aren't at your full strength. Taking care of the girl has tired you out. When I kill you, I want you at your best. Get some rest and we'll finish this battle another day."

With that, the samurai disappeared into the desert.

The threat gone, Link's attention suddenly returned to his friend.

"Amy!" He called. He looked for her, but she was nowhere in sight. _'Oh goddesses! Please don't let that woman take her.'_ Link prayed to himself.

"I'm over here." The girl responded, poking her head out from behind a rock where she had been hiding.

Link rushed over to the girl. "Are you O.K?" Link asked as if her life had been in great peril.

"Yeah, I'm fine." The girl responded, almost a little confused.

"Good. I worried."

Amy couldn't help but wonder, _'Why was he so worried about me?' _It was obvious the samurai had no interest in her. It was Link he wanted to kill. Yet Link fretted over her as if it had been her life in jeopardy. Why did he care so much about her when he should be worried about himself?

"Go back to sleep." Link instructed. "I watch for rest of night."

Once again Amy was wrapped in the blanket by the elf as he played his ocarina throughout the night. It calmed the elf's nerves, but it would keep him from falling asleep.

When Amy and Link walked through town early the next morning, Link was less than impressed. The town wasn't much different than any human town in his world. There were the slums, the upper class area, and the middle class area. Link still wasn't used to the lack of magic. He didn't sense a single bit of magic in this town. Even the humans at home had some magic. He guessed just select few like Taki and Talim had the gift of magic in this world.

Link walked around the market place with Amy behind him. He demanded that she stay close to him due to the busy streets.

"Hmm. We need food and you need clothes." Link pointed at Amy's shirt.

"Why me?" Amy asked. She still had a tendency to avoid Link's gaze when she spoke to him.

"Look." Link instructed.

Amy looked down at her black clothing. They were dirty and worn from her rough travels. Soon they wouldn't be fit to wear.

Link and Amy wandered around the market, looking for clothes until Link finally saw clothes that would fit a small girl.

"Excuse me, how much?" Link asked, pointing to the dresses behind the store keeper.

"Two shillings." The man answered in a gruff voice.

"What?" Link asked, completely confused by this concept. Of course different worlds use different currencies. He should have known that through all of his travels.

"This enough?" Link asked, pulling out a few green rupees.

"What in the world!?" The storekeeper asked shocked. "Yeah, you're a foreigner all right. I can tell by your accent. Sorry kid, but I can't accept these. I'm no jeweler and just be happy I'm honest enough not to rip you off. If you're going to want to buy things here, I suggest you come back with some actual money. There's a jeweler on the other side of town. I'm sure he'll pay you a bundle for those."

"Thank you." Link thanked the man, bowing. The two walked in the direction the storekeeper had pointed.

"Why in the world would you try to buy simple clothes with such nice emeralds?" Amy asked. Her curiosity was getting the best of her, forcing her to speak more to him. She was also slowly adjusting to his oddness.

"This money in my world." Link responded. "It not in this world."

"Your world?" Amy gasped.

"Yes. I can tell you more tonight if you want."

As Link and Amy walked to the jeweler's store, Link saw what seemed to be a simple peasant hit the dirt just a few feet ahead of him.

"Ha, ha! I win." A mocking voice could be heard gloating a few feet away. "Sorry, my dear fellow, but it looks like I win the money."

Link turned to face the man who had just spoken. He was dressed in white feathered pants and was holding a rapier in his hand. His hair was white, but he appeared to be fairly young.

"Please," The losing man begged. "I only wanted to fight you for money because of my son. He is very sick, and we don't have enough to bring him to the doctor."

"Sorry, my dear sir, but a win is a win, and you lost." The man gloated. "Anyone else wish to fight me?" The man challenged. "Come! I am always looking for a challenger."

'_What a jerk.'_ Link thought to himself. He was very tempted to challenge this man.

"How about you?" The white haired warrior challenged, pointing at Link.

"Me?" Link asked.

"Yes, you. You look like a strong person. How about it? However, no fight is grand without a wager. What'll it be, my friend?"

Link thought about whether or not he really wanted to fight or not.

"How about these?" Link asked the man. He pulled out his bag of rupees and showed them to him.

"Hmm, very interesting." The white haired man examined the items curiously, as if analyzing them.

However, Link saw the glint in the man's eyes as soon as he saw the rupees. It was a glint he had seen before; the glint of greed.

"Very well, youngster. I'll take up your challenge." The man said. "The name's Olcadan" The man announced as Link stepped into the fighting ring. The man drew his blade. "Be prepared to be defeated.

The man attacked with a fury of thrusts and slashes in fencing-like fashion. He was quick, but he didn't compare to the samurai from the previous night. Link could tell this man seemed to be considered to be one of the better warriors in this town, and if Link beat him too easily, it might seem suspicious. Link decided to beat the man after making it look like a close fight.

Link blocked the man's thrusts with his own blade, pretending to use all of his speed. The man countered with something that surprised Link a little; he tried to perform a kick to his head. Link saw the attack coming and ducked. Link continued to avoid the warrior as he began to fight in a kick boxing fashion. The white warrior switched his fighting style again and leapt in the air, slashing at Link in a fashion similar to Taki's style. Link continued to let the man push him backwards as he fought.

Amy closed her eyes as Link was nearly hit several times by the man's blows. She didn't know Link was holding back. She didn't know why she was worried about him in the first place. Besides her stepfather, she had never been worried about anyone. What was it about this elf that made her also worry about him and even like him a little?

Link jumped backwards, avoiding another kick.

"I'm impressed." The man complimented Link. "I haven't met an opponent who can adapt to my changing of fighting styles in a long time. You truly are a master."

"I train hard." Link responded truthfully.

"Well, let's see if that training can help you." Once again, Olcadan charged at Link, using his variety of styles. Link continued to defend against the man's attacks. He had been studying the warrior's various fighting styles and had managed to learn enough of Olcadan's revealed tricks so that he could analyze the warrior and find his weaknesses. Link had found those weaknesses now and was just about ready to exploit them.

The man threw another kick at Link.

'_There.'_ Link thought as he saw an opening to the man's attack.

As soon as Olcadan was about to kick at Link, Link caught the man's leg and kicked him in the knee, bringing him to the ground. As Link tried to pin the man, he stabbed at Link with his rapier, but Link avoided the attack. The Hylian warrior grabbed his knife from his bag and pointed it towards the man's neck.

"Surrender." Link ordered.

"Very well, I yield."

"No, surrender." Link ordered.

"What, don't you know English?" Olcadan accused. "Yield is the same thing."

"Oh." Link responded, getting off of the man.

"Well, here you go, foreigner." The man tossed him a bag full of various coins. Link didn't know how much it was, but it looked like a lot. "Winner takes all. It took me days to get that much money, so you'd better watch out. Next time, it will be you who loses."

The man walked away into the crowd, whistling. Link couldn't tell if he was just pretending to be O.K. or if he really didn't care that he lost.

"Think we have enough money for new clothes?" Link asked.

Link approached the clothing salesman and took out a few coins. It then occurred to him that he didn't know what two shillings was.

"What is two shillings?" Link asked the salesman.

"You've got to be kidding me." The sales man exhorted. "I'm surprised you made it this far so far with your lack of knowledge."

"Let me see the money." Amy instructed Link. Link figured Amy knew about the currency in this world. He gave her the bag to figure out how much two shillings was.

"Here you go." Amy said, handing the man a few coins. Like everyone else, she didn't look the man in the face when she spoke to him, but kept her eyes to the ground.

"Well, I guess we know who takes care of who here, don't we?" The man implied in a joking matter.

"Yes, I lucky I have her as a friend." Link commented. "We take that one."

The man walked over and took a white dress. He handed it to Link. Link knelt down besides Amy and held up the white dress to see if it would fit her.

"You must be joking." The girl responded.

"You'll look good." Link assured. "Go try."

Amy sighed and went into the changing room. When she emerged, she came out in her new white dress.

"See." Link smiled, praising the girl. "We take it."

Link paid the merchant for the dress and continued through town buying a few more needed supplies. He could usually just live off the land quite easily, but for emergency, he wanted to make sure he had food with him. He even bought a little candy, most of which he gave to Amy to enjoy. He didn't like wasting his money, but seeing the girl's face light up with joy as he gave it to her was reward enough for him.

'_Maybe she'll open up to me yet.'_ Link thought.

As Link and Amy left town, they were forced to walk through the slums. Link kept his eyes and ears constantly open for trouble. The money he spent had barely put a dent in his wallet and he knew that with all that money, people would be all too tempted to try to rob him. Luckily, most people recognized him as the one who had defeated Olcadan and kept their distance.

As Link and Amy were leaving the town, they saw the man who had been beaten by Olcadan earlier, speaking to his wife and sick son. They were dressed in old and torn rags and lived in what could hardly be called a house. Link and Amy paused to listen to them.

"I'm sorry." The man apologized to his wife. "I couldn't get the money. But I swear even if I die, I will get it all back, no matter what."

This made Link's heart ache. There were so many problems in the world and even he had to admit that he couldn't solve them all. However, this man had lost his money trying to fight for his son's life. The least he could do was save the boy's life. Slowly, Link approached the family.

Link took out his new bag of coins and put just enough for an emergency into his pocket. He tossed the bag to the unsuspecting man, who caught hit, stunned. As soon as the man opened the bag, his face became filled with sheer joy. Before the man could thank Link, Link walked off without a word.

"Why did you do that?" Amy asked. Where she came from, such acts of kindness didn't exist. A person had to fight to survive. If it hadn't been for her adopted father's kindness, she would have died a long time ago.

"They needed it." Link responded.

Link suddenly tensed up and reached for his sword as he looked up into the sky. Strange, he sensed nothing now. Yet, he could have sworn that just a second ago, he felt that someone had been watching him from the rooftops.

Amy and Link were already well out of town on their adventures. For some reason, Amy stayed closer to Link. Link wasn't quite sure if her actions were due to whether it was to be safe or because she trusted him. However, he hoped it was the latter of the two.

"So, you gave the money away, just like that?" A strange voice spoke behind Link.

Link spun around, drew his sword and immediately pushed Amy behind him to protect her. The man was probably the strangest one Link had met in the world. He was a samurai, but dressed more like an actor than a real samurai. He wore a purple kimono decorated with gold glitter in the shape of serpent dragons. Large steel shoulder pads and a steel chest plate were worn for protection. He wore sandals instead of shoes and his hands were wrapped in bandages. Well, one hand was wrapped. The man's right arm was made from strange steel gears. The man's helmet was carved into a well-designed face of a daemon bearing its massive fangs.

"I have to say, I'm impressed by your kindness, friend." The masked samurai commented. "I would have challenged the greedy pig myself and reclaim the money for the poor if you had not stepped in."

"Who are you?" Link asked.

"Someone like yourself; a defender of the weak and a fighter of justice, except you're not a samurai. You look nothing like me, and you don't run around in a mask and accidentally scare children." As the masked samurai looked down at Amy, she hid behind Link's cloak. "See what I mean."

"What you want?" Link knew he was being rude, but he wanted to get straight to the point of this encounter.

"I would like you to join me." The masked samurai offered. "You fight well and you have great intentions. I have seen by watching you these past few days from the shadows."

With those words, it suddenly occurred to Link that this was the person Link had sensed in town. The masked samurai didn't let Link contemplate this as he continued speaking to him.

"I am recruiting men just like you to join my gang of warriors. Together, we will fight for the poor and change the lives of thousands, maybe even millions. What do you say?"

"Good goal. Like to, but can't." Link rejected as kindly as he could.

"And why not?"

"Must destroy evil." Link made sure not to use the term Soul Edge. He knew nothing about this man, only that he obviously had great skill in stealth to be able to spy on Link for days without detection.

"What evil?" The masked samurai asked curiously.

"Great." Link responded.

"Ah, you wouldn't happen to be talking about Soul Edge, would you?" The samurai questioned in a calm and conversational voice.

Link's mouth nearly dropped as he tried to hide his look of surprise, but was unsuccessful.

"I see I'm right." The samurai commented. "That is a dangerous goal, my friend, one that I have tried to accomplish, but have failed. I'm afraid I cannot help you now, but I can give you advice and directions. Just a few days' journey from here is a town where the princess is holding a competition to gather fighters. It too is her goal to destroy Soul Edge. She's raising an army to do so. I suggest you participate in that tournament, for you may find some great allies. In fact, if you do choose to attend, you will find me there. Safe journeys, my elf friend, and good luck to you"

The masked samurai drew his sword with his metallic hand and held it above his head, causing Link to startle backwards, wondering if the masked samurai was preparing for an attack. The hand suddenly began to spin around, causing the sword to rotate. The spinning blade raised the man off the ground and he flew away as Link's listened to the swooshing of the spinning sword off in the distance.

'_He was definitely a unique character'_ Link thought silently to himself. _'At least he gave us some good advice.'_

"We continue?" Link asked Amy with a smile. He was trying to brush off his surprise from the encounter.

That night, Link found a cave for the two to rest in. The cave was cool and gave them some shelter from harm if it would come. As the two sat around the campfire after dinner, Link played his ocarina. He relaxed as he played his ocarina and kept his eyes closed. It was a peaceful and joyful tune.

As he was playing, Amy couldn't resist the chance to lean over and examine the instrument. It was so interesting to her because she hadn't ever seen anything like it. The music was so soothing. It was the one thing she looked forward to at night.

Link stopped playing and looked at Amy, who was almost right in his face. As soon as she was discovered, Amy darted back to her side of the fire.

"It's O.K." Link assured her. "You like my ocarina?"

Amy nodded, once again falling into her quiet girl role.

"It caused you to follow me in the first place." Link guessed. He knew whom those red eyes that had watched him at night while played his ocarina belonged to. "You want to learn."

The girl smiled slightly and nodded.

Link took out a simple wooden ocarina from his bag. It was Saria's ocarina, the one he had been given before his journey.

"Here, borrow this one." Link handed the girl Saria's ocarina. "It belonged to important friend, so please be careful with it. We can start tomorrow."

"Thank you…Link." The girl responded in her quiet, but now happy, tone.

"You're welcome. Get sleep now. Busy day tomorrow."

The girl lay down, holding the ocarina as if it was a stuffed animal in her arms as Link tucked her in. She slept soundly for hours.

When Amy woke in the middle of the night, she saw Link leaning against the side of the cave's walls as he slept. It was chillier than usual tonight, and he had given her his only blanket. Even though the young elf never showed it, she knew he must be cold. Amy felt a little guilty. He had done so much just to make her smile, and yet, she had done nothing for him. No one had really treated her so kindly before, except for her dead parents and missing adoptive father. Amy walked over to Link. She sat down and leaned into his side as she wrapped the blanket around the two of them. It felt unusually familiar and warm to her. It reminded her of how it felt to be snuggled up to her adopted father during those cold nights when he took care of her, when she was younger. That night, Amy slept more peacefully than she ever had for a while.

As Amy and Link slept, they didn't realize that a wicked nobleman was watching them.

"Ironic that of all the people my daughter would open her heart to, it just had to be the person I have to kill. This really complicates things." The nobleman spoke.

**Please do not say anything about Link or Raphael trying to seduce Amy. Their relationship with the girl is strictly paternal. Raphael is her adopted father and Link is like a big brother. Also, Amy is only around ten in this story.**


	13. Chapter 12 The tournament

Ch. 13 The Tournament

**Hi readers, sorry it took so long for this update. College can be a pain sometimes. For those who have reviewed this story, I would like to say thanks! Also, if you have any questions about the story, please remember to log into your account. If you don't, I won't get a reply address to send an answer. You can also leave me with your email address so that I can reply and answer your questions. Any way, thanks for all of the great reviews so far. For those of you who have asked me about if Amy is going to fight in this story or not, I can not answer that question quit yet because I haven't fully decided. **

Link walked into the room, finding everyone covered in blood. Saria, Zelda, Cassandra, his family, everyone who he had ever known and loved was now dead. Even Yun-Seong was among the group.

'No!' Link wanted to cry out, but for some reason he couldn't. The only two people standing before him that were still alive were Talim and Amy.

"Please, stop!" Talim cried. "I know there is still good inside you. Please, try to gain control of yourself."

Link grabbed his friend by the arm and drew his sword. No! He wouldn't! How could he let himself do something this horrible? Link tried to stop himself, but he couldn't. It was as if he wasn't even in control of his body anymore. Link shoved his blade through the girl's heart. What had he just done? He wanted to cry out, to pray to the goddesses to give him control of his body, but he couldn't. All he could do was watch helplessly as he began to walk towards the defenseless Amy.

"Please, stop this!" Link cried. "Please, not her. She's just a child."

Link's body, or whoever controlled his body, didn't listen. Link reached down towards the small girl and lifted her up by her neck, choking her. Link could only watch helplessly as Amy squirmed under his own grip. The girl's already pale face going ever paler.

Link could see his reflection in the girl's eyes. It couldn't be. That face. He still looked like himself, but every bit of kindness and warmth that he held in his eyes had now changed. All they were now were orbs of white light, continuing nothing but cold feelings towards the world. Link's gold colored hair was now silver, and his face was had been darkened. Blue and red pained was decorated on Link's forehead, cheeks, and around his eyes.

"No, it can't be!" Link once again tried to shout out. "Stop it. STOP!"

Link awoke with a start. It had been just a dream, just a dream and nothing more. He had to keep telling himself that for reassurance. Link looked down, praying to the three goddesses that the dream hadn't come true. Seeing Amy safely curled up next to him, cuddling into his chest, he silently thanked the goddesses.

With his sudden panic over, Link noticed something that should have surprised him. Amy was snuggled up to him. Him, the person that she was terrified of and would hardly is by just a few days ago. Wow, he had really made progress with her.

Amy awoke and looked into Link's blue eyes.

"Sleep well?" Link asked the girl.

Amy realized she had allowed herself to become close to Link and jumped away from him, almost like a feral animal. She had sworn to never let another person besides her adoptive father become close to her. Never. Yet Link was slowly causing her to love him just like she loved her adoptive father.

"It O.K." Link assured. "Everyone need comfort sometimes. I get some water before we start traveling. Spring nearby. If you need me, yell. I be here fast as wind"

"O.K." Amy answered in a quiet tone. At least she was talking to the Hylian more and her voice had become less depressed.

"O.K., see you in five minutes."

Link went to the nearby the stream to scoop one of his bottles into the water, but as he bottle touched the surface of the stream, the wind blew the water so that Link missed.

"Very funny, Zephos." Link spoke, turning to his side.

"Well, well, your skills of perception are simply stunning, my young hero." A voice spoke as a large green frog floating on a green cloud appeared in front of Link. "Never have I met a person who can sense a god when they do not wish to be sensed. Not even Hylians have such talent."

Both Link and Zephos spoke to each other in Hylian, since it was considered a more sacred language than the one Link was learning.

"As you and the other gods know, I have special gifts." Link responded. "I'm surprised to see you here. Usually you've been following Talim, giving her advice and protecting her when needed. Is she all right?"

"Yes, of course! I would never let anything happen to the young girl. Her village has worshipped me for centuries, and considering she is the village's last priestess, she is very useful to me. There aren't many who can hear me when I speak to them"

"Where are Talim and the others?" Link questioned.

"Currently, they are all safe. I left Talim messages in the wind that she will soon be following. I am actually leading them here to you. I really wish you wouldn't have separated. Even as a deity, it is still very difficult to be in three places at once, you know."

"Three?" Link asked.

"Never mind, nothing that you have to worry about. Anyway, I can't stay very long, so I guess I should give you your gift."

"Gift?"

Zephos whistled and Link heard a horse neigh. Link's ears were far more acute than any humans. They were even better at recognizing sounds that Hylian. Only one horse neighed like that. Link spun around to see Epona galloping towards him.

"Epona!" Link cheered, happy to see one of his friends.

Epona charged towards Link and knocked him over, licking him on the face.

"I'm happy to see you too, girl. Now get off of me, you're heavy."

The horse snorted in a laughing matter as she got off her friend.

"Zephos, how did you get Epona here?" Link asked.

"We gods have our secrets, my boy. I would have brought more of your friends, but she was all I could do. Good luck and be careful. Head towards the fighting tournament like your friend suggested. There you will meet important allies. Be careful though, for not everything is as it seems. And with that, I'm off."

The mighty deity of the winds began to glow and vanished in a flash of light.

Link led Epona towards the cave to where he had left Amy. Both Link and Epona could hear the wretched squeak of an ocarina being played incorrectly. It was rather amazing really. If played correctly, the ocarina was one of the most beautiful instruments in the world to the Hylians. But if played incorrectly, it was painful.

Epona snorted in discomfort as the horse heard her favorite instrument played so incorrectly.

"She's no Saria." Link spoke. "But neither was I when I first began to play."

Epona snorted once again, as indication that she was saying, "You were never this bad."

"Just wait here. She's a little timid. And don't worry; we'll only practice when you're not in ear shot."

Link walked into the cave and Amy stopped practicing when she saw him.

"I'm horrible." She admitted in an even more depressed tone than usual.

"No, just beginner. No worries. You get better. We practice." Link knelt down so that he was at the girl's eye level. "You want see something neat?"

"What?" The girl asked curiously.

"Come see." Link announced. Link took Amy's hand as he led her out of the cave towards Epona.

Amy's eyes lit up when she saw the large, brown mare standing in front of her, and pawing the ground with its front right hove. Amy had never seen a horse this close before. She had seen soldiers riding them down the streets, or had been forced to ride in carriages before, but this was much more exciting. Amy reached up to touch the horse on its muzzle, but it snorted, causing her to quickly bring her hand back in fear.

"Epona." Link spoke in a warning tone.

"Is she yours?" Amy asked, noticing how calm the horse was by Link. "Where's its saddle."

"It my horse, but she wild at same time. I not own her. She let us ride her though."

Link stared the brown mare in the eyes for a couple of seconds, as if they were having a wordless conversation. The brown mare nodded in agreement and snorted. The horse lowered itself, allowing Amy and Link to get on.

"She let us ride her now." Link spoke.

Link helped Amy up on the horse and then got on behind her.

"Hold on." Link instructed, wrapping one arm around Amy and grabbing the rein with his free hand. "She faster than any other horse."

Link began to speak Epona in Hylian so the horse could understand him. "Ready Epona?"

The horse snorted and nodded again.

"All right then, YA!"

With those words, Epona took off galloping. Amy laughed joyously as she watched the landscape zoom past. This was much more exciting than some stupid carriage ride through the country.

Even though Epona was galloping fast enough to beat the fastest of racing horses, she wasn't even running at half speed.

"You want go faster?" Link asked Amy.

The girl looked up towards the Hylian and nodded yes while smiling.

Link spoke in Hylian once again to Epona. "All right Epona, let's go. Ya!"

Every time Link said ya, Epona picked up speed. Epona galloped so fast that everything became a blur to Amy's eyes. Link's eyes were much keener than the girl's, as were Epona's, and they were able to see things coming in time to avoid low branches or rocks that stuck out of the path that they were following. Amy noticed that Epona was running towards the edge of a cliff with a large deep chasm between the two sides of the path.

"Link, cliff!" Amy shouted.

But the Hylian just smiled and Epona sped up as they approached the chasm.

"Link!" Amy screamed and closed her eyes as she grabbed on to Link. Epona jumped over the chasm. When Amy opened her eyes, she discovered that she was still safe and sound on the horse, but still gripping Link for dear life. As she looked back, she saw the large chasm was quickly fading away into the distance.

Link looked down and smiled at Amy, trying not to laugh. She wasn't the first one to react that way while riding with Link, and this certainly wasn't the first chasm he and Epona had jumped. In fact, the only people who didn't panic when Link mischievously used Epona were the Gerudo, who taught Link to perform such a feat, and Impa.

"Don't you trust me?" Link teased. "No worries, nothing bad happen when you with me."

Due to Epona and Link's "short cuts", the long trip to the next town took no time at all.

"Here we are." Link announced as he jumped off Epona. He helped Amy off the large horse. Amy stumbled around a little as she tried to walk. She was rather stiff from riding the horse. It was her first time riding one and her muscles weren't use to sitting for such a long period of time. Amy nearly tumbled over as her legs buckled underneath her, but Link caught the girl.

"Don't worry, goes away." Link assured her.

Amy nodded as her and Link began to walk into town.

"Link, your robe." Amy reminded Link. In all of the excitement, the Hylian had forgotten to put on his cloak to cover his ears.

"Thanks Amy. I be lost without you." Link chuckled, putting on his cloak so that it covered his ears. "Let's go."

"So where are we going?" Amy asked.

"To enter fighting tournament." Link informed. "Don't know why, but gods want me to."

Amy stared at Link in disbelief. She still didn't believe in magic or all the superstitions, but because Link was the only one she had right now, she would follow him regardless of how strange he was.

"Do you know where the fighting tournament is?" Amy asked.

"Nope, but it easy to find." Link answered. "All have to do is listen and watch for large crowd." A fighting tournament was likely to draw a large crowd, and they could follow the sounds of cheering and weapons clashing. Link's keen hearing could pick up those sounds in the distance. Link wanted to find the largest group of people traveling in the same direction.

Link was right of course. Link noticed several people of all ages running down a road and followed the group of people, holding Amy's hand while he walked. He highly doubted she would run off, but he was worried that they would become separated in the crowded streets and he wouldn't be able to find her.

The crowd led Link to a massive stadium. Even from outside, Link could hear swords clashing and people cheering. Everyone took their seats, watching the battles progress. Link took in his surroundings quite easily. This wasn't the first time he had been to a tournament. When he was younger, he participated in Hyrule's fighting tournaments every year. However, once he got older and more mature, he decided that a victory in the ring meant nothing to him. No longer did he care about winning battles just for sport and for the crowd's pleasure. He decided that the only time he would draw his blade would be for a purpose. Of course, due to the wind deity's suggestion, he would make an exception this once.

Link noticed Amy acted much differently than the other children at the stadium. Most of the children, especially the boys who hoped to one day participate in this tournament, were jumping up and down with excitement as the battles progressed. Amy just sat in her seat, acting unimpressed by the battles below her.

The battle the crowd currently watched was between an average knight with a blade versus a large man with a giant smooth club-like mace who wore a helmet made from a rhino's head and a loin cloth and boots made out of fur.

The knight charged the large man, swinging his blade like a mad man. The large man stepped to the side, avoiding the attack. With a single swipe of his giant mace, he sent the knight flying through the air. The knight landed out of the ring with a muffled thump and fell unconscious.

Link could hear the roar of the crowd either booing or cheering from the outcome of the match. The crowd's cheers were higher in number than those opposed and easily covered up the booing. Link stood up and began to clap for the match like any gentlemen would, despite the fact that the match had not impressed him.

Link looked up towards the balcony, knowing that was where the royalty sat. He saw a woman sitting on a throne, surrounded by guards. Link knew the woman was either the queen or princess. She was very lovely with long red hair cascading down the back of her blue dress. Link noticed the woman spoke to someone, but couldn't quite make out what she said with all the commotion around him.

"Your highness," A guard ran the stairs leading to the queen's balcony, calling her. Once he approached, he began to pant. "I have just received word that the White Giant's next opponent has dropped out."

"What?" The woman hissed. "Why is that?"

"Fear, I'm afraid." The guard admitted it.

"So be it. Simply move him to the next round and find another opponent."

"I'm afraid that will be difficult, your highness. Many of his future opponents have dropped out of the tournament in fear."

"Cowards." The woman snorted. "Thank you for your advice. You may return to your post."

"Yes, Princess." The guard saluted his lord and ran off.

"If you wish, your highness, I will fight him." A voice offered from behind the queen.

"That is not necessary Yoshimitsu." The princess replied. "I will deal with this problem myself."

The queen grabbed the short sword at her side and walked down the stairs to the arena.

The man called the White Giant stood waiting patiently for his next opponent.

"I must admit sir; you have done well in this tournament." The princess congratulated the giant. "Perhaps a little too well though, for you seem to have scared away the rest of your competition."

The large man only chuckled. "Well, can you blame them? Even an animal recognizes a fight they cannot win."

"That is true, sir. Unfortunately, the people here are looking for a good fight, and we can't disappoint them." The princess looked towards the crowd. "It appears that too many cowards have entered this tournament, and this warrior beside me has no opponent. Due to this, I'm willing to make an exception. Even though the deadline to enter the tournament have well ended, I am willing to allow anyone who is willing to fight this warrior enter now."

The crowd silenced with this announcements except for a few murmurs.

"Is anyone brave enough to fight this warrior?" The princess asked once again.

Still silence.

"Very well then. Sir, I shall be your next opponent." The princess announced, drawing her blade.

"What!?" One of the members of the crowd yelled. This announcement seemed to upset the crowd as there were several murmurs of disagreement.

"Your highness, are you sure about this?" One of the guards acting as a judge asked.

"Well, if no one here is man enough to fight, than perhaps a woman should." The princess informed.

"I'll fight." A voice announced from the audience.

The princess looked up to see a young man covered in a brown cloak.

"What is your name, sir?" The princess asked.

"Link." The man responded.

Link had silently thanked the goddesses and gods for giving him this opportunity, for in his eyes he felt that this was a sign from the heavens.

"Very well." The princess agreed. "Link will be the next challenger."

As Link stood up to walk down towards the arena, Amy grabbed his arm and tried to pull him back.

"What wrong." Link asked the girl.

"He's big. You'll get hurt."

Link gently pulled himself away from the girl's head and kneeled down so that he was at her level. He was deeply touched that she was worried about him.

"No worries." Link assured. "I be O.K."

Amy watched as Link walked towards the arena, once again worried for her protector's safety.

Link knew that his opponent was large, but he hadn't realized how large he was until he came face to face with the giant. The man had to be almost seven feet tall and extremely muscular. He reminded Link of a rhino.

Link was not tall by any means. He was of average height, and even though he was rather lean and muscular, those features were hidden under his robe."

"You really wish to do this?" The giant asked Link. "Granted its better fighting against royalty, but I won't hold back against you in this battle."

Link just smiled at the man. It wasn't nearly as large as some of the Gorons he'd sparred, and he highly doubted the man was as strong either.

"I will judge this round." The princess announced. "Fighters, prepare for battle!"

The mighty giant drew his large mace and Link drew the Master Sword, highly doubting that he'd need to even use magic for this battle.

"Fight!" The princess ordered.

The giant lunged at Link, smashing his giant mace into the ground as Link easily dodged. Link had to admit, this man was extremely strong for a human. The man could possibly even be stronger than he was. However, Link cared very little about brute strength. Link knew it would be unwise to try to outmatch the man in strength. He knew full well that this man was considered exceptional. Trying to outmatch him in such a way would draw attention. Link also could tell that using magic was out of the question because he had noticed not a single person in this town had any magic. However, Link still knew that he could beat this man with ease.

Link noticed as he was dodging the man's blows that he man relied too much on his natural strength. Sure, he had speed and skill, but he obviously hadn't had any formal training. Any warrior with training like Link's could see this and Link could pinpoint the man's weaknesses.

Link battled with speed and superior skill. He dodged the man's blows with ease, then rolled around him and kicked him in the back of the knee. The blow caused the giant's knee to buckle down. Link leapt into the air and kicked the man in the back, causing the man to stumble forward. He managed to catch himself by leaning on his mace.

If this had been a real fight, Link could have already killed the giant. However, Link would never use such force in a tournament. Link also didn't dare use his sword since the giant did not wear armor.

The giant once again rose to his feet and swung his massive weapon at Link, but Link jumped into the air and performed the splits, dodging the massive weapon once again and landing feet first on the smooth weapon. This stunt alone caused many of the audience members to gasp in awe at Link's great fighting skills. Link jumped off the weapon and kicked the giant in the face, causing him to stumble backwards. Link knew the man was no match for him, and he had become careless in his confidence. He underestimated how well the man was able to recover from the blow as he swung his mace at Link.

The blow connected with Link and sent the Hylian tumbling through the air. Luckily, Link was able to recover and land on his feet. Link considered himself lucky for if he had flown just an inch further, he would have landed outside the ring and been disqualified.

The crowd erupted in cheers. The fight seemed at its climax. Link had to make a quick decision as the giant charged towards him. Did he play the crowd and draw out the battle, acting weaker or did he save his energy for later fights? Link chose the latter of the two, knowing it was the wisest decision in the long run.

As the giant swung at Link, Link rolled under his legs, pushed off the ground with his arms, and kicked the giant in the back. The giant stumbled forward and fell outside of the ring.

The crowd burst into applause at Link's unexpected victory. Amy ran down and wrapped her arms around the Hylian. She had been petrified that the giant would hurt Link. The crowd seemed to gush over this, thinking that she was probably Link's daughter. Amy released Link in embarrassment and followed him out of the arena.

"The next fight will be between Madam Gerhilde and Yoshimitsu." The princess announced.

A female knight walked towards the stage, holding a metallic whip in one hand and a sword in the other. However, Yoshimitsu was nowhere to be found.

"Where is he?" One of the guards asked.

"Sorry I'm late." A masked samurai in strange armor appeared out of thin air, sitting cross-legged in the middle of the arena and sipping tea.

"I needed some tea before this round." The samurai explained. "Helps with the nerves."

Link turned around. He recognized the voice. It was the strange samurai who had told him to come here in the first place. So, he was entering the tournament like he said. Things suddenly became more interesting in Link's eyes.

"Warriors get ready!" One of the guards ordered. "Fight."

Link watched Yoshimitsu fight with admiration. The warrior he fought was decent in skill, but she was no match for the samurai's strange techniques. Yoshimitsu leapt up and attacked with a fury of thrusts and he seemed to walk on the air itself. Link had seen this technique used before, but only by Sheikah. Link also knew that Yoshimitsu wasn't actually walking on air, but was more or less gliding. As Yoshimitsu's quick thrusts were blocked by the woman warrior, he touched his feet to the ground and spun around behind her. With a slash of his blade, the samurai destroyed the female knight's armor and pointed his blade to her throat, indicating that he had won.

"Winner is Yoshimitsu!"

The masked samurai helped his opponent to her feet and bowed to the audience as they cheered for him. He then vanished out of sight.

'_Impressive.'_ Link thought to himself. _'I may actually have a worthy opponent here.' _

As the guards brought Link to a warrior resting spot, Link noticed the samurai known as Mitsurugi smiling in his direction.

"You!" Link hissed, pushing Amy behind him and grabbing his Master Sword.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." The samurai warned. "If you attack me outside of the ring you'll likely get yourself disqualified and thrown in prison. Don't worry, we will fight, in the finals."

Mitsurugi walked past Link and Amy, with Amy glaring at him with the utmost hate.

"The next fight will be between Mitsurugi and Girardot." The guard announced. "Begin!"

Mitsurugi was able to defeat the knight in less than a minute. Link had very little interest in this fight, but watched only because he needed to study how Mitsurugi fought so that he could come with a counter strategy.

Link thoughts were interrupted when someone cleared their throat behind him. Link spun around to see the giant he had defeated. Link was worried. This man didn't look like he took defeat lightly and Link wondered if he was about to get thrown into a rematch. However, the stern looking giant merely smiled at Link and held out his hand to be shaken. Link reluctantly shook the giant's hand to be polite.

"I must admit warrior, you got me by surprise." The giant spoke. "My name is Rock. I haven't lost to someone like that in years. Well, at least this time it wasn't a little girl."

"Thanks, umm, I guess. What is occasion of tournament? Is there festival?"

"Why, haven't you heard? I suppose that explains your language." Rock answered. "This tournament is a way for Princess Hildegard von Krone to draft strong, brave men and women like ourselves into her army in search of Soul Edge and destroy it."

"Really?'

"Yep. People are decided by their rank. The better you do in this tournament, the better ranking you receive in her army."

"That no good." Link responded.

"Why."

"Good fighter not necessarily good leader."

"Ah, I see." Rock chuckled. "Well, I suppose you have a good point there, but I wouldn't share that with her highness. She might take offense. Well, good day to you sir. I am off to practice. Good luck in the rest of your matches."

Despite Link's gratitude towards Rock's kindness, he didn't need luck to win his matches. Link won match after match with his skill and was unstoppable. Every opponent Link battled fought differently, ranging in weapons that consisted of rapiers, to nunchakus. Most opponents Link was able to defeat with ease. The only two opponents who gave Link any trouble at all was a blond samurai with an eye patch, and a red headed woman who had fought with blades attached to her boots. By the end of the day, Link was ranked in the top four contestants.

The other three members who made it to the finals included Yoshimitsu and Mitsurugi, which Link easily predicted. Yoshimitsu's strange fighting style and mystic tricks were nothing like any the other warriors had ever seen, and Mitsurugi was so skilled and powerful that none of the other warriors stood a chance.

The one warrior who caught Link's attention was an old man who seemed to go by No Name. He won every single one of his matches within a minute and wasn't touched once by an opponent.

The princess had been present at the tournament all day. She appeared quite impressed with her four finalists. She especially had eyes on her mysterious contestant who took her up on her challenge to take on the giant.

"Yoshimitsu." The princess summoned.

"Yes, your highness?" Yoshimitsu asked, appearing out of nowhere.

"Who is that blond warrior?"

"I do not know." Yoshimitsu admitted. "I believe his name is Link, but I have no idea who he is or where he came from."

"Interesting." The princess commented, studying the strange warrior as he walked towards his little red-headed friend, talking her hand as they made their way out of the coliseum.

"The girl with him, do you know anything about her?" The princess asked.

"No." Yoshimitsu admitted. "I have observed that she seems to be an orphan that Link is taking care of. That is all I know."

"Thank you. If you would excuse me, Yoshimitsu, I would like to greet our finalists."

As Link made his way out of the coliseum, he found the princess along with several guards waiting for him. Link didn't think he had done anything wrong because he would have been arrested by now. However, he was concerned that she knew something or wanted to know something she shouldn't. Knowing it would be rude not to bow, Link quickly lowered to his knees and made sure to pull Amy down with him.

"You may rise." The princess assured. "I am Princess Hildegard von Krone**, **but I go by the name Hilde. I have to admit that you were quite a surprise in today's tournament. No one seemed willing to fight the giant, and yet you were. Tell me traveler, where do you come from."

"Far away." Link spoke with his regular heavy accent.

"Where?" Princess Hilde asked.

"Can't say." Link spoke, using his language barrier to his advantage.

"I see." Princess Hilde spoke. "So who is your little friend? Your daughter?"

"No, just friend." Link commented, noticing Amy seemed to be staying behind him during the conversation. He didn't quite understand what the word daughter was though, but knew it was some sort of family member. He did know what friend was though, because Talim used the word often.

"Well, Sir Link, I would like to congratulate you on your success in this tournament. I am inviting all of the finalists to have dinner with me tonight at the palace. I do hope that you'll attend."

"Amy also?" Link asked, wanting to know if she could come.

"Shouldn't she be going home so late?"

"No home." Link informed.

"I see." Hilde glanced at the girl with pity and understanding. "I suppose she can come if she behaves. Here's your invitation." The princess handed a piece of paper to Link. "Please be there by sunset."

"Thank you." Link thanked the princess.

As Princess Hilde walked away, Amy looked up. "So what are we doing?"

"Dinner with princess." Link explained. "Remember, behave."

"I know that. I'm not some child, Link, so you don't have to treat me like one." The girl snapped.

"Sorry." Link apologized.

Link continued to walk around the city before dinner with Amy. There wasn't anything wonderful about the city. It seemed better than the last town that he had been in, but there was still more poverty than what Hyrule's towns had. Then again, most countries weren't as wealthy as Hyrule, where most of the people were middle class, something apparently rare in the countries of humans.

Link arrived at the castle and showed his invitation. A guard led him to the dining room. The other four finalists already sat; No Name, Yoshimitsu, Mitsurugi, and at the head of the table was Princess Hilde. As Link took his seat, both he and Amy gave heated glares to Mitsurugi.

"Greetings, my champions! Now I'm sure you all know why I have called you here." Princess Hilde announced.

"Why?" Link asked.

"First of all, it's to congratulate you on your successes in the tournament. Second, I would like to announce that regardless of who wins, I hope you will be fighting beside me in my search for Soul Edge."

Link dropped his silverware when he heard that.

"Soul Edge?" Link gasped.

"Yes." Princess Hilde announced. "Soul Edge has long plagued our lands with its curses. It caused my father to go insane, and I plan to take my army to destroy it."

"No." Link argued. "Dangerous."

"I know. Why do you think I'm searching for the best warriors?"

"I'm sorry, but I didn't enter this tournament to be drafted." Mitsurugi informed. "Although your offer is tempting, I am currently employed by another and I can't fight for two people at once. It's impossible. However, if you are willing to let me think about the offer and get back to you in a day or two, I should be done with my current job." Mitsurugi glanced at Link who only glared at the samurai. Luckily, no one seemed to notice.

"I am sorry, but I also cannot do this." No Name announced. "Soon my students will come to me for training. However, once their training is complete, I can send them to you if you would like. I, on the other hand, can no longer fight in wars."

"Well, that is a very unfortunate surprise." Princess announced. "Very well. Any help you two are willing to give, I will gladly accept. However, I do plan on marching in a week, so if you wish to either fight for me or send warriors to do so, please do by then. Otherwise, you'll have to catch up to my army. Yoshimitsu, I'm assuming you still plan on fighting with me?"

"Of course, your highness." The strange masked samurai answered.

"And what of you, Link." Princess Hilde asked.

Link had to think for a moment. If this princess wanted to destroy Soul Edge, then they had similar goals and she would most likely make an exceptional ally. On the other hand, he doubted that she knew what she was getting herself into. Link knew that just the shards of Soul Edge were powerful. He could only imagine how powerful the actual sword could be. Link remembered his fight against that monster with the strange blade. It had taken all Link's strength to beat him and he had still been injured. If creatures with that power were searching for Soul Edge, its power must be unimaginable. Princess Hilde was just an ordinary woman with ordinary men, with the exception of Yoshimitsu and a few others. Few of them could even hope to defeat the monsters that Link had been battling since he arrived.

"You shouldn't be." Link began.

"What?" Princess Hilde asked, astonished that someone would dare question her.

"You shouldn't. It dangerous. You could get killed." Link informed.

"I'm sorry, Sir Link, but I am well aware of the dangers that lurk with Soul Edge. No doubt it will have vile men and creatures guarding it, and that is why I am trying to find the greatest warriors possible to help me. Regardless of who joins me, I will march in one week and won't return until that blade is destroyed. Now the real question, Sir Link. Are you with me?"

"Must think about it." Link replied.

"Very well." Princess Hilde agreed. "Please enjoy your meal. After words my servants will show you to your corridors."

The servants brought out a three course meal for the warriors and Princess Hilde. Much to Link's surprise, Amy seemed to know how to eat like a noble woman. This was impressive to the Hylian and made him wonder who she had been raised by in the past. The girl didn't say a word while she ate though. She stared at her plate, ignoring all of the talk around her.

When the servants offered wine to the guests, Link declined. He hated the flavor of all alcoholic drinks and requested water instead. The food was tasty, but Link noticed the cooks cared more about the appearance of their food, something Link couldn't care less about. Of course, Link tried to be as polite and complimentary as possible, wanting to make up for his early dispute with the princess.

Once everyone finished their meal, they were escorted to their rooms. Amy and Link shared a room because the servants seemed to think they were relatives. Amy ignored their comments, so Link decided not to bring it up as well. He supposed it would probably be better for people to assume Amy was his daughter or sister rather than someone he had saved from an evil witch and who just happened to be one of the contestants in this tournament.

Amy's reaction to the room was the same as her reaction to the food. Even though the room was large and grand, something that only wealthy people could stay in, the girl didn't seem at all impressed. She simply sat on the bed.

"It O.K. you sleep on there." Link assured. "I sleep on ground."

Amy looked up at Link and nodded.

"Oh, I give you Ocarina lessons." Link suddenly remembered. "Sorry, forgot. Let's start."

Amy's face seemed to be filled with joy when she heard Link say that. The Hylian took out his ocarina and the girl took out Saria's.

"No blow so hard." Link instructed her, remembering the last time he heard her play. "Gentle. See."

Link pressed the ocarina against his lips and began to play a soothing melody on the instruments.

Amy tried to mimic Link, but her tone nowhere near the Hylian's. At least it was a decent sound.

"Good." Link congratulated. "Now watch."

Link worked with Amy for about an hour, teaching her how to play the ocarina. After she could play a couple of notes on the instrument, he took out a piece of paper and pen from his strange bag and drew a staff on it, introducing her to the various notes and rhythms. Amy nodded that she understood what Link was saying and she caught on quickly. Link finished his lesson, and he put away his ocarina.

"Bedtime." The Hylian announced.

"But I'm not tired." Amy spoke. It was the truth actually. She was never tired at night. It was always hard for her to wake up in the morning, but once night came, she felt like she could stay up forever.

"No, we need rest. Busy day coming." Link explained similar to how a father would.

"O.K." Amy reluctantly agreed, thinking to herself, _'You're not my father, Link.'_ However, she refrained from saying it.

"Link, how do you fight so well?" Amy asked the Hylian as he lay down and put his cape over him as a blanket.

"Train with many. Fight whole life." Link explained.

"Could you teach me how to fight?" Amy asked.

"You? Why?" Link asked.

"My adoptive father went missing." Amy explained. "With him gone, you're the only one who will protect me. One day I would like to find him, but I can't do that if I can't defend myself."

"I help you find him." Link assured. "I fight for you."

Link was always hesitant to teach people to fight. Even though he taught in rare cases, he would rather protect than teach how to fight, something very contrary to what his master, Impa, believed. Link knew what happened when a person became a warrior. They would have to kill. Such a task pained Link every time he had to do it, unless it was a monster. Most people felt it was no big deal, but they had never actually done it. Link didn't want Amy fighting. She was only a child. He had to fight as a child and knew how horrible an experience it was.

Unlike Amy's unemotional eyes, Link's eyes were always full of emotion and gave his feelings away instantly.

"I want to learn to fight, Link." She responded, more sternly. "If you don't teach me, I will find someone who will." Even though she knew that there was no one else, no one else that she trusted.

"We talk in morning." Link answered.

Amy lay down and Link tucked her in.

"You don't have to do this, you know." Amy responded, commenting about Link tucking her in.

"I know. I want to." Link answered.

With Amy tucked in for bed, Link took out his ocarina and played one of his lullabies, causing the girl to drift off into a peaceful sleep. Link only hoped that his own dreams would be equally as peaceful, although, something told him that he wouldn't be so lucky.


	14. Chapter 13 The Awakening

Ch. 14 The Awakening

"Hurry up and use those buckets of yours. Heave, heave!" Maxi shouted as everyone scooped the water spilling onto the deck. They threw bucketfuls of water out of the boat.

Due to the extensive damage on Maxi's ship from the battle, it wasn't going to stay afloat for much longer. Everyone pitched in to stay above water as long as possible, or at least until they found some land. It seemed like a hopeless cause. Every time someone threw water overboard, twice as much made its way back on deck. Siegfried couldn't help but wonder if it was everyone's hard work that kept them alive or if it was Sheik's magic. The mysterious figure hadn't stopped chanting quietly since they had begun trying to prevent the ship from sinking.

"Land!" Kilik yelled as they approached what everyone hoped was Europe.

"At last! We made it." Siegfried let out a sigh of relief.

"Nothing like sailing halfway across the world and back for someone who wants to kill you." Maxi muttered to himself.

As they approached land, everyone abandoned ship. They swam the rest of the way. Normally, this wouldn't have been a difficult task, but since Siegfried didn't want to leave his armor, he was barely able to make it.

"Is everyone alright?" Sheik asked Siegfried, who was on his hands and knees, panting.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Siegfried panted. "Just a little winded. I don't think keeping my armor was such a great idea."

"Maybe not for swimming, but it will come in handy when we need to fight. We still have a long way to go." Sheik informed.

"Where are we going?" Xianghua asked.

"I follow the wind." Sheik responded. "I do not know where it leads me because I have never been in this world before. All I know is that it leads me to where I have to go."

"You've got to be kidding me!" Maxi snorted in disbelief. "You follow the wind. The wind blows in random directions. To do that is just going to get us more lost than we already are." Maxi muttered under his breath. "Knew he was a nut job."

"Wait, I've heard of this technique." Kilik said. "My master once told me about it. Supposedly, there was a village that taught the villagers to hear voices in the wind. The voices came from some sort of spirit or god, and often helped them when in trouble. But you said you're not from this world, Sheik. How can you do such a thing?"

"It's simple. I've taught myself how to hear with more than just my ears." Sheik explained as he began to walk in what appeared to be a random direction.

"That makes no sense." Maxi growled as he and the rest of the group reluctantly followed Sheik.

Sheik couldn't help but sense a strange presence watching them as they traveled. The presence was far away and extremely powerful. It had been watching them for awhile. Sheik knew it was Majora.

*******

Tira and Astaroth walked towards Majora, each holding one of the blades of Soul Edge.

"Excellent, my servants. Now place the two blades against those rocks."

Tira and Astaroth did as their master ordered without hesitation. The heart-shaped mask on the man's face began rocking back and forth on the face of its current owner, almost as if it was a doorknob being turned left and right quickly. As the mask continued to rock, purple lightning blasted out of it, striking the two blades. Both blades began to glow a ghostly red as they merged into one powerful blade.

The blade known as Soul Edge was now much different and far more powerful than the two blades had been individually. The blade had lost its slight curvature and was now shaped almost exactly like a large knight's sword. Although it was still fairly large, it had shrunken just slightly and the eye was no longer located in the middle of the blade. Now the eye was located where the hilt of the sword met the dark, sharp steel of the blade. The only part of the sword that remained steel was the outer edge of the blade where it could easily rip into the flesh of its victims. The rest of the blade was made of some sort of organic material, a cross between stone and rotten-looking skin. Soul Edge continued to glow as its powers peaked.

"Leave me now." Majora ordered. "I wish to speak to Inferno privately."

The eyes on Majora's Mask began to glow as it sent a telepathic message to its ally.

'_So brother, how do you like your new form?' _

The eye of Soul Edge began to glow red as a booming male's voice entered Majora's.

'_It is great. I have not felt this powerful for centuries. Now all that is left for me is a proper host. Siegfried has proven to be more than a little disappointing." _

'_Yes brother, I agree with you fully. I never expected him to break free from your grip. He and Sheik are much more powerful than either of us had anticipated." _

'_I worry not about those pathetic fools. You witnessed how easily I defeated them. What worries me more is Soul Calibur. My pathetic ex-host is slowly reawakening its power every time he comes in contact with my shards or me. Those travelers must be eliminated before Soul Calibur's full strength returns.' _

'_Agreed.' _Majora's mask peered into the crystal ball he used to spy on Siegfried and company. They were currently following Sheik. Sheik looked up towards the glass, as if he noticed he was being watched. With a wave of his hand, the globe went fuzzy, cutting off Majora from his spying.

'_They are really beginning to be a nuisance.' _Majora snarled._ 'Well then, I suppose it is time for me to awaken the four daemon gods.' _

*******

As Siegfried, Sheik, and the other three warriors walked through the forest, they heard a large rumbling noise as the ground underneath them began to shake.

"What is this?" Xianghua yelled over the shaking.

"Everyone, jump!" Sheik yelled.

As the ground underneath them began to crack, all five of the warriors jumped as far as they could into the air. A giant worm burst out of the ground beneath them. The monstrous worm stared down at the five warriors.

"It's huge!" Xianghua gasped.

Xianghua was right when she described the beast as huge. The worm was a fearsome-looking beast that could easily swallow one of them whole. The worm had rows of razor sharp teeth in its mouth. On the sides of its head was a pair of large pincers. It had four eyes and its tail had three spikes protruding from it, shaped like a pitchfork.

"What is that thing?" Siegfried asked Sheik.

"Trouble." Sheik spoke, not quite knowing himself.

The giant worm-shaped beast dove at the five warriors, who jumped out of the way. The beast dove back underground.

"Where did it go?" Maxi asked.

"Feel the vibrations of the ground underneath your feet." Sheik instructed. "It will most likely try to come up underneath us." Sheik had battled monsters like this before, but there was something very strange about this one.

Just as Sheik said, the monster tried to come up underneath them. Once again, the five warriors jumped out of the way. The monster peered down at its prey, staring at them with its five eyes.

"Well, I'm not just going to stand here, playing dodge the giant worm before it eats you alive all day. I'm going to kill it!" Maxi growled, getting ready to attack. Maxi attacked the giant worm furiously. The worm didn't even act like it noticed while Maxi inflected blow after blow with his nunchaku. After releasing a serious of attacks, Maxi jumped away from the beast, startled to see that he hadn't even made a dent.

The beast just looked at Maxi as if it was mocking him for trying such a foolish method of attack.

"It didn't even flinch when you struck it." Kilik gasped. "Not even Astaroth or Nightmare have this strong of protection."

"Yeah, but I'm betting it has some weakness, just like Nightmare and Astaroth." Maxi retorted.

"It's tail and face." Sheik instructed. "Aim for those areas."

"Right." Kilik responded.

"But his face is up in the air, and his tail is still underground." Xianghua reminded her team.

"We'll distract him." Maxi spoke. "Xianghua, you climb up and get him in the face with that magic sword of yours."

Kilik, Maxi, Siegfried, and Xianghua charged towards the monster, leaving Sheik to contemplate the best attack. There was something much different about this beast. Compared to the most of the monsters he had battled, it seemed more powerful, and there seemed to be something trapped in it.

Kilik, Maxi, and Siegfried attacked the monster in all directions, diverting its attention so that it didn't notice Xianghua trying to sneak up to it.

"Rising Dragon of the Zodiac kick!" Maxi yelled, releasing his strongest attack. The blow only caused the monster to glance at Maxi in annoyance, as if Maxi was a mosquito trying to nip at him. Kilik charged the monster and hit it with his bow staff. Though his attack did no damage, it caused the monster to divide its attention between the two warriors. The monster tried to bite at Kilik, who jumped out of the way, but the monster's sudden movement caused Xianghua to fall on its back before she could attack.

"Xianghua, are you O.K?" Kilik asked.

"I'm fine." Xianghua assured, as the giant worm now turned his attentions to her.

Siegfried jumped on the worm's back and dug Soul Calibur into it. He was shocked to see that his blade had the strength to actually penetrate this monster's hard skin. Not only that, but part of the skin where Siegfried hit was now crystallized, the crystals spreading across the beast's body. The beast seemed to feel pain from Siegfried's attacks as it let out a growl. As the creature roared, the crystals on its back shattered and it used its tail to hit Siegfried, knocking the knight off its back.

"Well, at least, now its tail is visible." Maxi shouted. "Let's take it out."

Kilik charged towards the monster's tail. The giant worm-like monster tried to bite at Kilik, but Sheik shot a barrage of needles into the worm's eyes, blinding the monster in two of its eyes. Xianghua lunged at the monster's lowered face and plunged her sword into its face, where its flesh was vulnerable, and Kilik finished it off by jumping onto the beast's tail and stabbing it in the middle of its tail with his bow staff.

The monster screeched an angry roar of pain as it dove back underground, greatly wounded.

"Did we get it?" Maxi asked.

"No." Sheik responded. "It's only trying to recover. There's no telling when it will be back."

Everyone froze as they felt the ground underneath their feet begin to rumble.

"Jump!" Maxi shouted, as everyone avoided being eaten alive by the large worm as it burst out of the ground again.

If anything, the monster was only angrier at its prey now, and was attacking more viciously as the five warriors would dodge its attacks. The five warriors tried to strike back, but none of their attacks seemed to penetrate the monster's thick shell. When they were able to strike its tail or head, the attacks seemed to anger the monster more than hurt it.

"What does it take to defeat this thing?" Siegfried growled after he had been struck backwards from a swipe of the monster's tail. The blow had severely cracked his armor.

Sheik looked at Siegfried and noticed a blue light was beginning to glow in the middle of Soul Calibur's handle.

"You." Sheik spoke.

"What?" Siegfried asked.

"Look at Soul Calibur. I have little doubt in my mind that this beast was sent here to destroy us by Soul Edge and Majora's Mask. Soul Calibur seems to sense this and wants to destroy them. However, you must be the one who reawakens Soul Calibur."

A powerful blue aura surrounded Siegfried and with a yell, the knight dug Soul Calibur into the ground, causing a barrier of crystals to rise up from the earth between him and the monster. The monster smashed into the crystals, shattering them. By doing so, its attack had been repelled and it was now completely blind from the several shards of the crystals that were now embedded into its skin.

Everyone looked in amazement towards Siegfried. Not even Sheik had expected the knight to gain this much power. Soul Calibur was no longer a weapon in Siegfried's hand, but had infused itself onto the knight, giving him armor made of blue crystals. The shining blue orb that had once existed in the middle of the blade now existed in the middle of Siegfried's chest, where his heart was.

The monstrous worm once again turned towards Siegfried, seeing its true prey and lunged at him again.

"Everyone, get behind me!" Siegfried ordered. Siegfried pointed his fist towards the monster and shot a barrage of crystals out of his arm as if they were arrows. The crystals struck the creature hard shell, causing damage to it. Siegfried then used his powers to make a large blade appear in his hand. The blade was similar to his old blade Requiem. It was nearly as large as he was and made entirely of blue crystals.

Siegfried jumped onto the creature and dug his blade into its back, beginning to crystallize the beast fully. Before the crystals could spread throughout the beast's entire body, the beast lashed out with its tail and knocked Siegfried through the air. When Siegfried landed, his diamond-like armor wasn't even scratched. The monster broke free from its crystals.

"Sheik, I'm still not strong enough to defeat this monster." Siegfried spoke.

"Battles aren't won with strength alone, Siegfried." Sheik lectured. "Use your head. Attack the monster from the inside."

Siegfried nodded and approached the beast, using his powers to make the blade vanish. As the monster lunged at Siegfried, the knight stood perfectly still, allowing it to swallow him whole.

"Siegfried!" Maxi yelled. "Sheik, you asked him to commit suicide. I may not like the guy, but no one deserved that."

"Just wait." Sheik spoke in a calm and patient tone.

Everyone turned to look at the beast, thinking that one of them would be the next snack. The giant worm monster prepared to attack once again, but it stopped for some reason. The worm beast began to make a choking noise. It then released a sinister roar of pain as blue crystals began to pierce through its skin. The blue crystals continued to protrude from the monster's skin and into its mouth until Siegfried burst out of the beast's mouth, once again holding a large sword made from blue crystals.

"All right, let's finish it off before it can recover." Sheik ordered. "Xianghua, Siegfried, use your spirit swords to attack its head.'

Siegfried and Xianghua attack the creatures head, driving their blades into it, finally bringing the mighty creature down.

As the creature died, its body burst into flames, segment by segment, until only its head remained, and that too finally turned into ashes. Once the fires had cleared, all that remained was a mask shaped in the form of the creature's head.

"What is that?" Xianghua asked, reaching down towards the mask.

"Don't touch it." Sheik ordered, grabbing the mask before the girl could.

Xianghua looked surprised at Sheik's sudden panic. It was the first time the calm figure had ever showed any sign of panic.

"Sorry." Sheik apologized. "Majora's Mask created that monster. The mask contains its spirit, and there is no telling what would happen if someone tried to put it on."

Sheik reached down and put the mask into his cloak for safe keeping.

"Thanks for the warning." Xianghua thanked Sheik.

Siegfried fell to one knee as his diamond-like armor transformed back into its original form and Soul Calibur once again transformed into what appeared to be a blue blade made of crystals.

"Wow, Siegfried! I never knew Soul Calibur had that kind of power." Xianghua complimented. There was almost a small hint of jealousy in her voice, for she couldn't help but wonder why Soul Calibur hadn't chosen her for this journey, and chose the ex-wielder of Soul Edge instead.

Sheik seemed to notice this slight jealousy as he looked at Xianghua. Sheik then turned to Siegfried, who was exhausted from the battle.

"Are you O.K.?" Sheik asked.

"I'm fine." Siegfried commented. "Awakening Soul Calibur just drained me of more energy than I thought it would."

"So where do we go now?" Kilik asked Sheik.

"Where ever the wind guides us." Xianghua chirped, using Sheik's phrase before he could.

"Right you are, my child." Sheik chuckled. "This way."

With the new, more powerful Soul Calibur reawakened, the five warriors continued their travels.

*******

Majora had been able to use his magic to override Shiek's blocking spell, but he was only able to view them for a few minutes. Needless to say, Inferno was not happy to see that one of Majora's four daemon gods had been defeated and that Soul Calibur was now reawakened, stronger than ever.

'_You said your daemon god would be able to destroy them. You said you would prevent Soul Calibur from re-awakening. You are as worthless as the rest of my servants.'_ Soul Edge's voice boomed as he sent a mental message to Majora's Mask.

'_Do not take that kind of tone with me!' _Majora's mask hissed_. 'If it weren't for me, you would still be locked away, powerless by that meddler's song. You had best be careful or you'll be the one who ends up at the bottom of the ocean.' _

'_Is that so? You seem to forget that we need each other still, brother.'_

'_Yes, and our goals are identical, so why are we arguing over such futile manners? What we should be concentrating on is a way for us to destroy our enemies.' _

'_Do you have a plan?' _

'_Not yet. Sheik's spell can only block us from spying on them for so long. Once we know where they are heading, we can try to deal with them again.' _

**Hi readers, thanks for continuing with this story, and once again I'm sorry that the chapters with Siegfried are a little strange. As you may have already noticed, many of the characters have the abilities from Soul Calibur IV. (Talim calling upon the wind and Astaroth being made from stone are two examples.) Siegfried's armor is also based off its Soul Calibur form, but its different due the fact that his armor wasn't formed by Soul Calibur, but it actually is Soul Calibur. As you noticed by this chapter, Siegfried has the powers to make and manipulate crystals to from a variety of attacks and weapons. It's very similar to the diamond alien Ben can turn into if you've watched Ben 10. **


	15. Chapter 14 Search for Link Continues

Ch 13 The Search for Link Continues

Talim, Taki, Cassandra, and Yun-Seong continued to follow a trail, hoping it would lead to Link. Talim wasn't the only one guiding the group with their search for finding Link. Taki had proven herself to be a master at tracking. It was a skill she had learned and developed in her years of hunting monsters and daemons. Link had left a clear trail, not even bothering to cover his tracks. They had already passed two areas where Link and the girl had obviously made camp, and the group knew they were close.

"This is good." Taki commented. "Link's trail is very easy to read."

"Why is that good?" Cassandra asked.

"Because it means Link is being followed by an enemy. Link strikes me as very impulsive, but experienced in battle and living in the wild. I have observed his senses and they are very keen, much keener than most humans. He would most likely know if he was being followed and would cover his trail."

"Well, that's a relief." Cassandra stated, happy to know that Link was alive and well.

"Yes, and it appears that the child is walking again." Taki explained.

"What do you mean?" Cassandra asked again.

"Well, when we passed the area with only one pair of tracks, those tracks were deeper. The ground was softer and the tracks would naturally be deeper, but they were still too deep for only Link's body weight. Therefore, I'm assuming he was carrying something slightly lighter than Talim. That girl was slightly smaller than Talim. Now there are two sets of tracks. So the girl is walking by herself, and it also appears she is no longer lagging behind. This is interesting."

"How in the world can you figure all that out by looking at footprints?" Yun-Seong asked in disbelief.

"It's simple, once you've been trained to look for the correct signs. Anyway, we better keep going. I'm sure we'll reach Link in a day or two. We're moving at a faster rate than he is."

"Wait." Talim interrupted. "The wind just spoke to me."

"Oh no! Not this again!" Cassandra rolled her eyes.

"It's telling me that we shouldn't follow Link's footprints. It's saying that there is something very evil and powerful coming from that direction. Instead, we should go this way." Talim pointed to the right.

"That makes no sense." Taki argued. "I sense no evil coming this way."

"But the wind is telling me that a wandering friend is in this direction." Talim pushed. "It says that a wandering friend is coming towards us and we should meet them."

"Look kiddo." Cassandra began. "I'm sure this wind may help little children when they get lost, but I think it is time we let an expert lead us. In other words, we go where Taki says."

"I'm not a little girl." Talim argued. "Taki, please believe me."

"Sorry Talim, but I think you are wrong in this occasion." Taki tried to sooth.

"See? You heard the woman! You're wrong, she's right." Cassandra informed. "We follow the tracks."

"I don't think that would be very smart." Yun-seong butted in.

Cassandra glared at the teen.

"Look." Yun-seong began. "I know Talim's methods may seem odd, but trust me. The last time I didn't believe her, I was in big trouble. She seems to see things in a different way than we do, and if we want to find Link, she's our best option."

"Oh, and since when do you care about Link?" Cassandra shot towards Yun-seong.

"Hey, I may not like the freak, but I don't want him dead or anything." Yun-seong shot back.

"Yeah, but we're not going to know if he stays alive if he go in the wrong direction."

"Shut up!" Yun-seong hollered.

"The only reason you're yelling is because you know I'm right." Cassandra growled.

"I said shut up!" Yun-seong yelled again, drawing his blade.

"There you go again, trying to prove your manhood by using swords." Cassandra lectured.

"Quiet, both of you!" Taki ordered, drawing both of her blades.

"What's wrong?" Cassandra asked, knowing Taki only drew both her weapons when a very powerful opponent approached.

"I don't know how Talim managed it, but she was able to sense the danger before I was. Something very evil is approaching." Taki quickly jumped out of the way before she could be crushed by a giant masked warrior.

"What is that thing?" Cassandra gasped.

Taki, Yun-seong, Talim, and Cassandra stared up at the strange masked warrior. The warrior had to be at least twenty feet tall. He was dressed in only a loin cloth and a strange mask. His skin was green with several orange and blue drawings on his body. He carried a sword and shield to match his own great size, making them easily as large as a human being. The sword was a cutlass white and the shield was diamond-shaped with alternating stripes of yellow and green. The oddest feature about this man was the mask he wore to cover his face. The mask seemed to be made of wood and made a wicked face with red glowing eyes visible from underneath it.

"What is that thing?" Yun-Seong gasped.

"A very powerful evil." Talim spoke up.

"Whatever it is, it's going down." Cassandra announced.

"Cassandra, wait!" Taki ordered, but Cassandra didn't listen and charged towards the creature with full force.

For such a large creature, he moved faster than the human eye. It appeared that Cassandra's blade had made contact with the creature, but in reality, all she had hit was the after image of him.

"What in the world?" Cassandra gasped. "Not even Link can move that fast!"

"Cassandra, watch out!" Talim warned.

The strange creature appeared behind Cassandra and was about to strike the maiden down with his giant blade. Taki jumped into the air and blocked the attack with her own weapon.

"Cassandra, this daemon is almost as strong as Cervantes was when he held Soul Edge." Taki warned. "You don't stand a chance against it. Let me handle it."

Taki drew the other blade, the one she always kept sheathed and contained a small portion of the power of Soul Edge. Immediately, Talim could sense the dark aura coming from the strange blade.

"I sense a strange presence similar to Soul Edge inside of the blade Taki drew." Talim whispered.

"What do you mean?" Yun-Seong asked.

"Wicked soul, prepare to die!" Taki hissed towards the giant masked monster.

Lightening formed around both of the ninja's blades as she charged them with her energy. Taki jumped into the air and slashed at the face of the daemon with speed that could have rivaled Link's. Not even Taki was as fast as the daemon though, for the monster moved so fast, he seemed as if he had vanished. When Taki landed, the daemon appeared behind her just as it had done with Cassandra and he tried to attack the ninja from behind. Unlike Cassandra, Taki had been ready for this as she jumped out of the way, barely avoiding the attack.

Even though Taki thought she had been quick enough to dodge the attack the attack, she felt a stinging in her left arm. Taki looked at her arm to see a cut running along it with blood dripping to the ground.

"Damn it!" Taki swore. "This thing is quick! I can barely keep up!"

"Well, I'm not just going stand by and watch this fight." Yun-Seong growled, drawing his blade. "I'm going to take this thing down."

"Yun-Seong, don't." Taki ordered. "None of you will stand a chance against this thing. Let me handle him."

The daemon shot a blast of flames out of his mouth towards Taki. Taki jumped into the air to avoid the attack of flames and slashed with her blades, sending a blast of lightning toward the daemon. He easily avoided the blast of lightning by jumping in the air and he retaliated by slashing at Taki. Taki blocked the attack with her blades but the mere force of the slash knocked her backwards towards the ground.

Taki landed on her feet like a cat and the jumped out of the way of another attack as the daemon tried to land on top of Taki.

"You know what? The heck with what Taki says! I'm fighting!" Yun-seong announced, charging toward the creature.

Before Yun-Seong could reach the daemon, a black cloud formed in the daemon's mouth and headed in Yun-Seong's direction.

"What the hell?" Yun-seong swore, wildly swiping at the black cloud with his blade.

"Ouch!" The fiery teen yelped as his skin began to appear to be covered with bug bites.

"What in the world is going on?" Cassandra cried as the insects swarmed towards her and Talim as well.

Both of the girls yelped as they were bit by the angry little beasts.

"Your fight is with me, daemon, not children!" Taki yelled, charging the monster again, hoping to divert him and his insects away from the others. However, the insects continued to bite at their prey. The daemon jumped high into the air once more and began to spin around in a circle with its sword pointed outwards.

The spinning daemon headed toward Taki at full speed. Taki turned around and ran from the spinning daemon as it followed her across the battlefield. Taki glanced behind herself to see the daemon gaining on her and the others still being bit by the bugs.

"Please wind, help us!" Talim cried, trying to protect her face from the bugs with her arms.

As if in response to Talim's cry, a powerful gust of wind blew towards the bugs. The wind was so powerful, it killed the small creatures.

Taki found herself cornered as the masked daemon continued to spin in her direction. The daemon's attack was about to make its mark on the female ninja when the wind hit the daemon, knocking him off of his feet.

Taki took this as her chance to attack as she lunged towards the monster. Lightning once again surrounded her blades. The daemon was quick to recover and blocked Taki's blades with his own as he tried to hit the ninja with his shield. Taki adjusted herself midair so she could kick off the daemon's shield as it came towards her. The agile ninja did a back flip in the air and landed next to Talim and the others.

"Looks like I was wrong." Taki spoke. "There is no way I can beat this thing. We need to run."

"You've got to be kidding!" Yun-seong argued. "I've never ran from a fight yet and I'm not going to start."

"I don't think you get it." Taki lectured. "Even if we all attacked this thing together, we'd still lose. We need to regroup and think of a plan."

"I will not run." Yun-Seong repeated.

"You stubborn child!" Taki yelled.

Taki noticed the daemon was preparing to attack once again by firing something out of its mouth.

"Come on!" Taki ordered, grabbing Yun-Seong by the shoulder.

Before the group could run though, the daemon shot a blast of flames out of its mouth, surrounding the group in a ring of fire.

"We're trapped! What now?" Cassandra questioned Taki.

"Talim, I don't suppose that wind of yours would be willing to help us a second time, would it?" Yun-Seong asked. He believed in Talim's abilities enough to suggest something that sounded impossible to the rest of the group.

"I can try." Talim answered, as she lowered to one knee and began to pray.

"Um, Talim? I'm not sure praying is going to help us right now because here he comes!" Cassandra yelled.

The daemon jumped into the air and was about to finish off the four warriors when a female warrior jumped down from a cliff onto the daemon's head and stabbed it with a spear.

The daemon released an angry howl as he fell to the ground. The female warrior withdrew her spear from the daemon's head and jumped off him, holding her weapon proudly.

With the daemon defeated, the fire seemed to vanish. The group turned to see who their savior was and right away Yun-Seong eyes bulged.

"Well, looks like I'm getting you out of trouble again, eh Yun-Seong?" The female warrior commented.

"Oh no, not you!" The teenager moaned.

The female warrior seemed to be a young Korean woman around the age of Cassandra. She had long brown hair flowing down her back, which she tied in a ponytail. She had a lovely face with brown eyes to match. She wore a tight red, sleeveless kimono with the sides cut open for her legs to move easier, along with a yellow sash and red headband.

"The name's Seong Mi-na, or just Mi-na. It's time for you to come home, Yun-Seong." The young, female warrior announced.

"No way. I have to find Soul Edge, and there's no way you can make me go."

"That's what you say all the time." Mi-na giggled, grabbing Yun-Seong's ear and pulling him.

"Ouch! Let go, you crazy woman." Yun-sSeong growled.

"Excuse me, but the daemon isn't dead yet." Taki informed, pointing to the creature.

Mi-na released Yun-Seong's ear and turned to the monster, which was now rising to his feet and seemed angrier than ever.

"What, but how can that be?" The Korean woman gasped. "There's no way it could have survived that attack."

"It's a daemon." Taki explained. "Regardless of how it looks, there is nothing human about it. It probably doesn't even have a brain."

"Kind of like Yun-Seong." Cassandra commented.

"Hey, shut up!" Yun-Seong growled.

"Stop arguing! We need to defeat this thing now." Taki ordered. "Cassandra, your blade was made by Hephaestus and has magic stored in it, right?"

"Well a little bit." Cassandra admitted.

"That's all we need." Taki answered. "Talim, can you actually use the wind as a weapon?"

"If the wind deity is willing to help, then I can use it."

"All right. Here's how the plan works." Taki quickly spoke. "I'll take the frontal of the attacks. Talim, you use the wind to try to counter the fire and insect attacks. Yun-Seong and Mi-na will help hold it off. Cassandra, as soon as you see an opportunity, strike the monster in the head or heart. Even though it's not human, those are still weak points."

"Gee, you sure know a lot about this." Mi-na commented.

"You don't know the half of it." Taki retorted. "Get ready, here it comes."

Lightning danced around Taki's weapons as she slammed the blades together. A trail of lightning headed towards the daemon. The daemon jumped over the attack and released a horde of insects toward the group of warriors.

"Wind." Talim prayed, as a gust of wind blew towards the insects, blowing the insects away and causing the daemon to stumble backwards.

Yun-Seong and Mi-na charged towards the daemon next, attacking the daemon with all their fury. The daemon easily dodged their attacks with his lightning quick movements, but what the daemon didn't see was Cassandra sneaking up behind him.

As soon as Cassandra had her opening, she moved in, yelling as she charged. The Athenian girl was able to jump into the air and dug her sword into the creatures back, causing it let out a scream. Using her sword as a ledge; she was able to pull herself up onto the creature's shoulders. The beast threw his shield to the side and was about to grab the swordswoman when Mi-na jumped into the air and slashed the monster's hand, cutting it off.

Cassandra was finally high enough to strike the creature's face, which she did, stabbing him right between the eyes.

The creature released another painful scream and finally fell to the ground. Cassandra jumped down from the monster and withdrew her sword from his head. As she walked away, the creature began to burn in blue flames.

"Wasn't even a challenge." Cassandra bragged.

"Cassandra, watch out!" Talim cried.

Cassandra turned around to see the creature attack. Before the creature could injure Cassandra though, Taki had already reacted. The skilled ninja sheathed the blade she didn't use in battle, knowing it wouldn't be useful in this situation, and instead concentrated all of her energy into her other blade. The blade appeared as if it was made of lightning when Taki struck the daemon. The daemon was cut in half and burned until all that remained was a pile of ashes.

The creature mask fell to the ground, now a normal size.

"The mask." Cassandra spoke. "That's strange. Why didn't it burn like the rest of the body?"

Taki bent down to pick up the mask.

"Be careful, Taki." Talim warned. "I don't know what it is, but I'm still sensing some strange force coming from the mask."

As soon as Taki touched the mask, she too understood what Talim was talking about.

"I sense it too." Taki confirmed.

Taki took out her medical kit and began to wrap the mask in several bandages.

"I don't dare try to perform a sealing spell on this mask until I know exactly what I'm sensing. Until then, keeping it wrapped like this should be adequate enough. I will be the one who carries and no one is to touch it or try to put it on."

"Why should you be the one who carries the mask?" Yun-Seong whined.

"Because I'm the only one here who has dealt with dangerous artifacts such as these." Taki informed.

"I hate to admit it, but she does have a point." Mi-na agreed. "Besides, you're coming with me, Yun-Seong."

As Mi-na went to grab Yun-Seong, the teen immediately jumped away from the Korean woman.

"Oh no, I'm not." Yun-Seong objected.

"Wow, and people think I'd be forceful of a wife." Cassandra snorted.

"You think I'm trying to marry this child?" Mi-na shouted. "Not even in his dreams. I'm trying to drag him back home because he took a family heirloom and is now trying to run off after an evil sword. Knowing him, he'll either get possessed or killed."

"Hey, you gave me this sword." Yun-Seong spoke, holding up his blade. "And I'm not going to get possessed or killed by Soul Edge."

"I let look at the sword, not run off with it."

"I'm staying with Talim and the others."

"Talim?" Mi-na turned and looked at the small girl and her other two comrades. "Please don't tell me he's the cause of this mess?"

"Actually, he joined us." Talim explained. "We want to destroy Soul Edge, but our mission has been postponed right now to find our friend, Link."

"Link?" Mi-na repeated the person's name. "What happened to him?"

"He fell off a cliff." Talim explained.

"He fell off a cliff!?" Mi-na gasped. "Why do you think he survived?"

"There wasn't a body." Taki explained. "And we have been following his footprints. Talim." The ninja turned to the girl and switched the subject. Now that the daemon was killed, she wanted to get back on track and find their elf friend. "Which way does the wind tell you to go?"

"What, you mean you want me to lead?" Talim asked, full of joy that Taki finally acknowledged her ability.

"Yes. You were right about the daemon and you seem to have some sort of unique talent."

"Well…" Talim closed her eyes and began to listen to the wind carefully now. "The wind says that now we have found our friend, we should continue following the footprints. Mi-na, do you want to come along with us?"

"Her?" Yun-seong asked in an objecting tone as he pointed to the Korean woman.

"Well of course." Talim answered.

"Hmm." Mi-na thought out loud. "If I try to drag Yun-Seong home with me, he'll run off in the middle of the night like the last couple of times. If I come with you, I'll at least get a chance to keep an eye on him. So sure, why not?"

"That's O.K., right Taki?" Talim asked the ninja.

"Well, she seems like a decent warrior, so I suppose its O.K." Taki agreed.

"O.K." Talim spoke. "Well, Mi-na, I'm Talim, and this is Cassandra. You all ready know Yun-Seong and Taki."

"Well, now that introductions are over, let's find Link." Cassandra announced.

"Right, let's go." Talim agreed, as the group continued to follow Link's footprints.

After a day's travel, the five travelers settled down for the night. Taki prepared a campfire as Talim and Cassandra rested for the night while Yun-Seong and Mi-na trained. For once in his life, Yun-Seong was not interested in fighting, but Mi-na had dragged him to the sidelines and forced him to train with her.

Mi-na's skill was far superior to Yun-Seong's. She easily blocked his attacks with her weapon and yawned a couple of times to add insult. She had already thoroughly kicked the young teen's butt in one match and she was continuing to do so in the second.

"She's not half bad." Cassandra commented.

"She is quite skilled." Taki commented.

"So, how does she compare to you and my sister?" The swordswoman asked.

"I could beat her, and so could your sister, assuming she has kept her skills sharp. Knowing Sophitia though, she hasn't done much fighting outside of keeping the streets clean."

"That may be true about my sister, but she's just as she ever has been. I know I've never even come close to beating her." Cassandra suddenly covered her mouth from admitting her sister's superiority. "But don't you dare repeat that, understand?"

"Sure." Taki chuckled. Something she rarely did. "All right everyone, time for bed. We're getting close to him, but he's moving quickly so I'd like to not lose him."

As Taki prepared for bed, she removed her steel mask. As she did so, Mi-na's attention was diverted to the ninja as she studied the Japanese ninja's face.

"Tee ya!" Yun-Seong yelled as he jumped into the air and kicked Mi-na, knocking the Korean girl off of her feet.

"All right, I'm just too good." Yun-Seong bragged.

"Shut up, Yun-Seong, I was distracted." Mi-na growled.

"Yeah, by my skills." The Korean boy continued to brag.

"Oh whatever." Mi-na growled as she marched over to Taki. "Hey! You're from Japan, aren't you?"

"I know what you're worried about, and I assure you, I do not work for the government nor do I have anything to do with Japan's war against Korea." Taki assured.

"And how do I know that's true?" Mi-na questioned.

"Because Taki is a renegade ninja." Cassandra explained, knowing Taki better than anyone else in the group. "She disliked the orders of her clan's leaders so she became a renegade ninja, constantly on a hit list for assassins. It's the reason she came to Europe, right Taki?"

"That is one reason." Taki admitted. "I disapproved greatly of the war between Japan and Korea, but the main reasons I came here are due to Mitsurugi and Soul Edge."

"The Mitsurugi, you mean the mercenary known as the one man army?" Mi-na questioned.

"Yes, and he as several other nicknames as well." Taki informed. "We've been rivals since we met and won't stop until the other is dead. Because he searches out Soul Edge, I have taken it upon myself to stop him from claiming it."

"You mean you actually plan to fight him?"

"I've done it several times before, but we always end in a draw. We are too equally matched."

"You must be one skilled warrior, and anyone who is an enemy of Soul Edge and is disliked by the government of Japan is a friend of mine." Mi-na announced.

"Taki." Talim interrupted.

"Yes Talim?" Taki asked.

"I was wondering if I can take the first watch tonight. Since we're getting close to Link, he may find us any day or night now, I'd like to…"

"Waiting up for Link won't get him here any faster." Taki informed the girl. "However, if you wish to take the first watch, I will not stop you. Just please wake one of us when you're ready to sleep."

"Yes Taki, thank you."

As the others slept, Mi-na couldn't, so she went to find Talim.

The girl sat against a tree, alternating between looking up at the stars to looking at the footprints that belonged to this so-called Link.

"Can't stop thinking about him, right?" Mi-na guessed, walking up to the young girl.

"How did you know?" Talim asked, surprised.

"It's not hard to guess." Mi-na informed. "You're from the Philippines, right?"

"Yes, that is correct." Talim nodded and then looked down as if she was unhappy about something.

"Well, judging by your talents, you must be one of the legendary wind priestesses." Mi-na guessed.

"You mean, you actually believe in my people's legends?"

"A while back, an elderly wind priestess came to our village and healed some of our people using wind magic." Mi-na explained. "I wasn't born at the time, but my father told me the story when I was younger. So, can you too heal illness by using the wind?"

"Yes, um… a little at least. After the Spanish took over our country, I'll be the last. They see my people's ways as taboo and wish for all of us to worship their god."

"That's too bad. It sounds like that is a great talent to have." Mi-na complimented.

"You really think so?" Talim asked, looking up towards Mi-na. "The only people who have ever believed in my talent outside of my village have been Yun-Seong and I believe Link seemed to believe in me as well."

"Well, Talim, there is more to this world than meets the eye. You don't have to worry because I believe in you as well."

"Thank you, Mi-na. It means a lot to hear that from you." Talim smiled.

"No problem." Mi-na responded, giving Talim a thumbd up. "So tell me, who's this Link guy you're trying to find?"

"Oh, him…" Talim spoke, looking down to the ground, once again becoming slightly embarrassed. "Well, I've only known him for a little while, but I do know he is a very good person. He's incredibly strong but so kind and gentle."

"O.K., but what does he look like? Is he cute?" Mi-na asked jokingly.

"Oh that…" Talim's cheeks suddenly turned a soft pink. Mi-na smiled to herself, knowing how the girl felt about this so-called Link.

"If I'm going to help you find him, I'll need to know what he looks likes." Mi-na informed.

"Well, he's not from around here so he speaks very little English, and when he does talk, he has a strange accent. He has long blond hair and blue eyes full of life and emotion. He's an average height and will usually wear of green tunic over a tight white suit. And yes, he is very handsome…and muscular too. Oh, his ears…" Talim suddenly stopped in mid-sentence. Even though she liked Mi-na, she wasn't sure if it was O.K. to tell the newcomer about Link. There was so much about the elf she knew was a secret. Was it her right to tell those things? No, it wasn't. Link trusted her with those secrets and even though Mi-na would figure them out eventually, it wasn't her place to tell the Korean woman. It was Link's.

"Link's ears are very strange." Talim spoke, trying to find the least offensive term possible.

"I see." Mi-na answered. The Korean woman once again turned to look at Talim as the girl looked down into the ground.

"You've been acting strange for most of this conversation." Mi-na implied. "It's obvious you are quite fond of Link, but there is something else bothering you, isn't there?"

"It's just that I don't understand why Link is moving away from us so quickly. He was probably very hurt from falling off that cliff, but instead of waiting for us, he's running away. Even now, he's continuing to travel in the opposite direction. Doesn't he know that we're trying to track him? Or doesn't he want us to find him? He was always secretive. Maybe he's trying to find Soul Edge on his own and he sees us as burdens. Or he could…"

"He could be looking for Soul Edge on his own to protect you." Mi-na informed. "I don't know much about Soul Edge, but if there are creatures like the one we fought today, he may be worried about you and wants you to remain alive. That or maybe he's just lost. You said he's a foreigner, so maybe he got turned around while trying to find you. Whatever the reason, Taki said we're getting close. We'll find him, don't worry. Besides, you've got me on your side." Mi-na assured, giving Talim the thumbs up again. "What could possibly go wrong?"

"Yes, thank you Mi-na. You helped me regain my confidence."

"No sweat. Now get some sleep. I'll take the next watch."

As Talim wrapped herself in her sleeping bag, Mi-na muttered to herself. "Personally, I hope this does take awhile. I have no interest in going home."


	16. Chapter 15 The Assassination

Ch. 15 The Assassination

As Link began to fall asleep, he sensed a strange presence and quickly awoke, alert. Link scanned the room, but all he could hear were Amy's light snores. Yet, at the same time, he couldn't help but sense that something was wrong. Link went over to the window and peered out, but could see nothing in the darkness.

********

Hilde strode the halls of her castle. She couldn't sleep. Her finalists were very interesting people. She already knew Yoshimitsu, and even her far away country had learned of the daemon swordsman, Mitsurugi, but Link and the old man were entirely different stories. She could tell the old man must have originated somewhere from Asia, probably China. However, Link was an absolute mystery. His accent was heavy, as if he had just learned to speak English, and he always covered his head with that cloak, not to mention the mysterious young warrior seemed to know more about Soul Edge than she did.

As Princess Hilde entered her throne room, she stopped in her tracks as she heard a hissing noise come from the ceiling.

"Who's there? I demand you show yourself!" The fearless princess ordered.

Hilde heard another hiss. She looked up to see a thin man dressed in bandages with spikes adorning his boots and gloves hanging from the ceiling like a spider. The strange man pounced from the ceiling and tried to strike the princess with his dual Jamadhar Katars, but Hilde was able to avoid the attack.

Hilde reached to draw her sword by instinct, but remembered she wasn't carrying one. Once again, the strange bandaged assassin lunged at the princes with his bladed gauntlet, only to have Yoshimitsu appear in front of him and deflect the blow with his blade.

"Attacking an unarmed woman!" The Samurai hissed at the assassin. "You have no honor, assassin!"

Yoshimitsu and the mummy like man began to fight each other viciously. Even though most warriors couldn't last long against Yoshimitsu strange and masterful fighting style, the assassin and he seemed to be equal matched. The assassin was able to dodge the samurai's attacks by bending in ways that were thought to be humanly impossible and then retaliate with his own lighting quick strikes.

"Give me five seconds to retrieve my weapons and I will be right with you, Yoshimitsu." Hilde announced, turning to her room.

Before the princess could take more than a couple of steps, another assassin jumped down from the ceiling to attack her. Hilde was pinned to the ground as she looked at the creature's hideous features. This thing was like a giant lizard. The creature's snarled, showing its fangs an inch from her face.

"Princess!" Several of the princess's guards rushed towards the lizard creature. They had heard the commotion from outside.

The lizard creature jumped off Hilde and disposed of the guards with mere flicks of its tails. Even though the guards hadn't lasted long, they had given the warrior princess enough time to grab a spear from the wall and prepare for battle.

"Come and fight me, vile beast! That is, if you have the courage!" The princess challenged.

As the lizard monster charged towards Hilde, she thrust her spear. The lizard avoided the princess' attack with a quick side step. Hilde was shocked by the creature's speed. No man could have been able to change direction that quickly and avoided running himself through.

The creature slashed at the princess with its blade, but the princess was able to step back and avoid the attack. Hilde once again tried to thrust her spear towards the monster, but it blocked her attack with his shield.

Hilde realized it was impossible to defeat this thing with strength and speed, so she began to scan the room to come up with a plan. She noticed the door to the balcony was open.

The princess continued to fend off the creature the best she could with her spear. She allowed herself to be backed towards the balcony door as they fought. Even though Hilde wanted the creature to believe it was getting the best of her, she was still fighting as hard as she could to stay alive despite her long spear giving her the advantage of range.

The lizard-like monster kicked the princess in the stomach, causing her to stumble backwards onto the balcony as she fell on her back and drop her spear.

Even though the situation seemed grave for the warrior princess, she had the monster right where she wanted it.

"Come now, vile beast! Come and end this, if you dare." The brave warrior princess challenged.

The creature released a strange cry that seemed to be mix between a hiss and a roar as it charged the princess at full speed, preparing to kill its prey.

Hilde waited without fear as the creature charged. She had already seen this creature's great speed and would have to time this perfectly if she wanted to succeed.

As soon as the creature was upon her, Hilde moved. The princess fell to her back with her legs up. The creature ran into the princess's feet and Hilde used her legs to flip the creature off the balcony.

Hilde rose to her feet and dusted herself off. That had been close, but she had done it. The attack left her worried. Had the attack come from one of her enemies? So many corrupted lords wanted Soul Edge for their own devices and wanted her dead due to her plans to destroy the blade. Or did Soul Edge truly have a mind of its own? If that was true, it was possible Soul Edge itself had sent the attackers to kill her. Not that it mattered now. There was no way the beast could have survived the fall.

Hilde turned to see how Yoshimitsu was fairing against his opponent. The two warriors were still in dead lock with each other, neither able to find an opening against the other. It was clear to Hilde that the two must have fought before, for the two warriors seemed to predict each other's moves.

"I hope that assassin prepares to die." Hilde growled as she pointed her spear at the man wrapped in bandages.

Before Hilde could help Yoshimitsu, a long lizard tail slid up the balcony and wrapped itself around the princess's leg. Hilde began to be pulled towards the edge of balcony. Hilde reached for her spear and drove it into the ground, trying to prevent being dragged over the balcony. She lost her grip and was about to be pulled over the edge when Link appeared and grabbed her by the arm. The tail released its grip on the princess, allowing Link to pull Hilde to safety.

"Link." Hilde looked at her savior in surprise. "I don't understand. How did you know we were being attacked?"

Link didn't answer. The warrior drew his sword and shield, preparing for the battle as the lizard creature jumped up and attacked Link. Link blocked the creature's sword with his shield and pushed the creature backwards, causing the rail of the balcony to collapse. Both of them fell to the ground.

As Link and the monster fell, they continued to fight briefly, trying to get the other on the bottom to absorb the impact of the fall. Link was able to get above the monster and then applied a swift kick to its head, causing it to fall at an increased rate and smash through the roof of a wooden shed.

Link performed a quick flip in the air and landed on his feet. Most people would have been hurt from the fall, but Link's cat-like reflexes allowed him to easily leap from tall houses and balconies and land on his feet. This balcony was higher than most, and the warrior had hurt himself slightly, but the damage wasn't anything a few hours of sleep wouldn't fix.

Link examined the shed the monster had landed in. It had collapsed, and he doubted the creature could have survived. Link began to walk away when he heard an angry hiss. Link turned around to see the lizard creature pulling himself out of the broken boards, rage filled in his eyes. The creature charged with full force.

Link and the lizard continued to battle each other with their swords and shield, blocking and trying to counter the other's blows. Link thought that this creature was just another lizalfo or dinolfo, but was soon mistaken. This creature seemed to be strong and faster than any lizard-like creature Link had ever encountered. It also appeared to be fighting smartly as well. Most lizalfos fought using instincts, while this creature seemed to be using a strategy against Link as it tried to find a weakness in Link's moves and use them.

The creature spun around, using his tail to lash at Link, but Link quickly dodged as the tail instead hit a stone statue and smashed through it.

"So the rumors of you are true." The lizard creature spoke, causing Link to jump. None of the lizard enemies spoke to him before. All they did was communicate with hisses and snarls. This one was definitely unique.

"You speak?" Link asked astonished.

"Yessss, I do." The lizard creature spoke. "I was once human and, like you, a sservant of the gods. I sserved Hephaesstusss, god of the forge, and I wass even taught by him as well. I served him well, but THISSSS iss what happened to me by doing so. When I needed my god most, he abandoned me, and I became a blood thirsssty monssster. And here you are, another sservant of the godss, fighting to desstroy Sssoul Edge. Come and join Voldo and mysself. Together, we will make our own destiniesss and desstroy the godss using Sssoul Edge."

"You mad." Link informed.

"Am I? My godsss did not protect me, and they will not protect you. The ssame fate will occur to you if you do not give up this missssion." The lizard man hissed more angrily now.

"I not give up. I fight till death."

"Fool!" The lizard creature hissed. "Than you sshall perishshshsh."

The creature pulled out a large piece of Soul Edge from his pocket. The shard released a menacing red light as the creature absorbed its power. The lizard creature grew wings and began to shoot fire out of its mouth.

Link jumped out of the way of the fire attack as the creature took to the sky and continued to breathe fire in Link's direction.

"Well," Link spoke in Hylian. "If you get a power up, then so do I."

The Triforce marking on Link's left hand began to glow as he called upon its power to increase the power of his spells. Link ran right into the blast of flames, forming a thin barrier of gold light around his skin that protected him from harm as he attacked the lizard creature.

"What?" The monster spoke, shocked.

Those were the last words the creature spoke as Link ran his blade through the creature's heart, ending its miserable life.

Link looked down at the dead creature and removed the piece of Soul Edge from it. He placed the piece in his box with the others. Zelda's enchantment on the pieces had finally vanished and when this piece was collected, shards of Soul Edge fused to become a larger one.

'_Soul Edge is growing in power.'_ Link though. _'I'll have to collect the remaining shards so I can destroy it before it causes even more harm.'_

Link then turned to look at the dead lizard creature and spoke to it in Hylian. "I pity what has happened to you, but I have no sympathies for the consequences of your actions. It is true that we may not always get to pick our paths, but how we choose to walk them is always up to us. It is a shame that you chose the wrong way and had to pay the price for doing so."

******

The assassin who had originally attacked Hilde had been able to keep his ground against Yoshimitsu, but as soon as Hilde had jointed the fight, he was too outmatched. The assassin jumped away from his attackers towards the balcony.

"There is no where to run now, assassin." Yoshimitsu announced.

The assassin looked down and jumped off the balcony. He grabbed onto the wall, climbing down like a spider. When the assassin reached the lizard creature, he saw his dead friend lying dead on the floor and the Hylian standing next to him. The Assassin gave Link a glare of complete hatred for what he had done to his only friend.

"You shall die for this." The Assassin hissed, speaking for the very first time.

The assassin looked down to see Yoshimitsu flying down towards him. He turned and ran into the darkness, vanishing into the shadows.

"Good work, Link." Yoshimitsu congratulated the hero. "You did quite well, I'd have to say.'

"Who were they?" Link asked.

"That man you just saw was Voldo." Yoshimitsu explained. "A pitiful assassin who serves a dead man he believes to still be alive and speaking to him. The creature you just killed was a lizardman. Pour souls affected by Soul Edge and transformed into wicked creatures of death. Since the one you fought was so powerful, I'm assuming he may have been their ruler. I would not worry though. Lizardmen are like wild animals and merely serve whoever is the strongest one. They won't care less when their leader dies as long as there is another to take their place."

"Princess, princess." Several guards came running towards Hilde, who had joined Link and Yoshimitsu.

"If you're here to rescue me, you're a little late." Hilde informed.

"You were in trouble?" One of the guards asked.

"Never mind." Hilde responded, rolling her eyes. "What do you need?"

"The town has been attacked by lizard-like monsters your highness." One of the guards spoke.

"How many of them?" Hilde asked.

"Don't worry. The White-Giant, blond-haired samurai with a patch, and a couple of the other contestants came and fended them off."

"Good, make sure they are properly awarded for their assistance. Now, I need you to lead me to the grounds of the battles for investigation." Hilde ordered.

"Very well, your highness."

"Link." Hilde spoke, turning to the warrior. "I don't know how you knew I was in trouble, but you saved my life tonight. For that, I am grateful and in your debt. I suggest that you no longer worry yourself about anyone else's well being and get to bed so you can rest for the fight tomorrow."

"Yes, your highness." Link spoke bowing. He had no interest in investigating. It was clear why these creatures had come to this town. To take the shards of Soul Edge and kill everyone who stood in their way.

*******

Link returned to his room yawning. Maybe he would finally be able to get some sleep. The Hylian opened up the room and sat on his bed, about to lay down, when he jumped up, forgetting that Amy was in the bed.

"Sorry Amy. Forgot you there." Link apologized for nearly squashing the girl. Link then noticed there was no reply from the bed. In fact, there was no Amy.

"Amy?" Link called. He scanned the room quickly, but was unsuccessful in finding the girl. "Oh no!"


	17. Chapter 16 Midnight Meeting

Ch. 16 A Midnight Meeting

Amy awoke in the middle of the night. Even Link's lullaby didn't help her sleep well this night. She kept waking up and peering down at Link. Link tossed and turned in his sleep constantly, mumbling things like, "No," and "Stop." Amy couldn't help but feel a hint of sorrow in her heart for him. She normally didn't take pity on others, especially since most of them knew nothing of real pain. Yet, she couldn't help but feel sorry, and felt that perhaps some of his pain was due to her.

This time Amy awoke, she didn't hear the elf making any noise. When she looked down, he was gone.

"Where could he have gone?" Amy wondered.

It didn't matter though. She doubted Link had left her. It wasn't that she trusted him yet, but she knew that he had too many important things to do before he left this world. He probably just had to go to the bathroom or find someway to calm his nerves. Having constant nightmares must be horrible to experience.

Amy lay down, but found that she couldn't fall back to sleep. Only Link's music could put her to sleep. Oh well, she could always sleep during the daytime while Link was out. She often slept during the day while living with her adopted daughter. Suddenly, Amy heard a loud thud outside her room and looked out of the door through the peephole.

It was the samurai, Mitsurugi. She knew he was after Link, which confused her since it was obvious that his employer, Ivy, wanted her for some reason.

'_What could he be doing up in the middle of the night?'_ Amy wondered. _'I have to find out.'_ A part of her wanted to tell Link, but since he was nowhere to be found, it was up to her to find out. Whatever the samurai was planning, it probably had to do with Link's demise. She decided to follow the samurai.

As Mitsurugi walked down the hall, Amy silently left her room, careful not to make a sound as she shut the door. Amy was very stealthy when she needed to be. She had learned to be quiet while living with her adoptive father. She loved to spy on him during his meetings or when she wanted to escape from his stupid overprotective servants.

Amy watched as Mitsurugi left the castle. The guards gave a nod as he walked by. This would prove a small problem for her. The guards would most likely try to prevent a small girl from leaving the castle alone in the middle of the night. She would need to sneak out. Amy looked around and saw a window a few feet off the ground. Perfect. She was used to sneaking out of her adoptive father's mansion, which was about as well guarded as this castle. She could surely sneak out of the castle in this way as well.

Amy saw a small table by the window. She quietly pushed the table over so she could climb on it and she jumped through the window, landing on her feet. Thank goodness she hadn't lost the samurai. Amy saw him just as he turned the corner. Amy continued to follow Mitsurugi, keeping to the shadows, unseen and unheard. She was almost too good at this for a little girl.

Amy followed the samurai towards a maze of bushes.

'_Why would he want to go in there?'_ Amy wondered as she continued to trail the man.

She accidentally stepped on a stick.

"Who's there?" The samurai demanded, turning around.

Luckily, Amy able to duck behind a tree just as a squirrel ran out of the brush.

"Oh, just an animal." The samurai grunted.

The samurai turned around, and Amy poked her head out from behind the tree. Before Amy could react, Mitsurugi drew his blade and cut down the tree she was hiding behind. Amy fell on her bottom and looked up at the blade that was now pointed at her nose.

"Did you really think I didn't know you were there?" The samurai asked. "I knew you were following me from the beginning. Very unwise, child. Your guardian isn't here to save you. Pity about that, I would have liked to kill him here and now. However, with you as my hostage, I'm sure he wouldn't be holding back anymore."

********

"Where could she have gone?" Link asked himself, searching the main halls of the castle. "I've searched everywhere for her." A horrible thought came to him. "That little fool! She didn't dare leave the castle, did she? Oh, this is like taking care of Aryll all over again."

*******

The samurai was right; Link wasn't here to protect her. She could protect herself now though. It was night, and she had the advantage. With speed that only a fully trained warrior possessed, Amy rolled away from Mitsurugi, grabbed a sharp stick, and flipped to her feet. She held the stick as if it was a blade and prepared to fence with the samurai.

"So the witch was right. You are unique." The samurai lowered his blade. "Unique or not though, a warrior doesn't harm children."

Mitsurugi turned his back to Amy, who took a few steps towards him, still holding her stick as if she was preparing for a duel with him.

"I suggest you put your weapon down unless you _do_ want to get hurt." The samurai warned. "Weapons are not toys. Go to bed, child. I have no quarrel with you."

"I'm not a child." Amy hissed. "And I don't care who your quarrel is with. If you or that witch of an employer want to harm someone I care about, it is you who will die."

The way the child spoke almost frightened the samurai. It was completely the opposite of how he expected the small girl to speak. She actually sounded a lot like his "witch of an employer". However, Mitsurugi had too much pride and honor to react to the girl's deadly words.

"Go to bed child." Mitsurugi repeated. "And stay out of trouble."

With that, the samurai left the Amy to return to Link, unharmed.

*******

Link walked to the gate of the castle, preparing to search for Amy outside the castle, but he saw Amy walking across the lowered drawbridge. It had begun to storm and her clothes were getting wet.

"Amy!" Link cried, running towards her and wrapping his cloak around her, still making sure to cover his own ears from the sight of the guards. "Come with me! You shouldn't be out here."

Once they returned to the room, Link discovered he was angrier at the girl than he thought. "What you thinking?" Link yelled, making sure to keep his voice down so that he couldn't wake anyone. "I was worried! You run off. What if something happen to you? What if you attacked? The streets not for girl to be alone!"

"You think I don't know that!" Amy shouted back. He had no right to lecture her. "I lived on the streets for two years! Trust me; I know what it's like! I was worried about you! I went out because I saw that bastard of a samurai sneaking out. I followed him so I would know what he was planning to do to you. You're the only person I have now, Link, and I don't want to lose you!"

Amy suddenly burst into tears. All the pain, all the suffering and dark memories she had locked away inside herself suddenly begun to pour out. The memories leaked out of the overcrowded internal prison that she had put them all in.

"Everyone I trust leaves me." Amy cried. "My parents, my adoptive father! I don't want to lose you."

Link put his arms around Amy and sat on the bad, allowing the girl to cry into his chest as he tried to comfort her.

"I lost family too." Link comforted. "Dad, Mom, uncle, many friends, all killed by an evil man. Don't worry, you won't lose me. I stay as long as you need me."

Link picked Amy up and set the girl in her bed. He was beginning to understand Amy much better; the reason she never looked people in the eyes or barely spoke to anyone, and when she did speak, her voice was usually quiet and emotionless. She felt abandoned. She didn't trust people anymore. Link had met people like her before, and it always hurt him. It made him remember how lonely he was when he had first lived with his uncle. If it hadn't been for Saria, Link may have very well ended up not much different than Amy.

"I promise, I won't die. Nothing bad will happen."

"That's what they all say." Amy sobbed, wiping her eyes.

Link rose to his knees so he could be eye level with the girl.

"I never break promises." Link informed in a serious voice.

Amy didn't know what, but there was something in Link's words that sounded comforting. She stopped crying. She knew she could trust him and he wouldn't let anything happen to her.

"Go back to sleep." Link advised. "Tomorrow morning I give you ocarina lessons."

Hearing about playing the ocarina seemed to take Amy's mind away from her depressed memories. She lay down and allowed Link to tuck her in.

As Amy drifted to sleep, Link sat at a desk, thinking. With his current nightmares, he had no desire to fall asleep, despite the knowledge that he would need to be well rested for tomorrow's fight against Mitsurugi.

*********

Mitsurugi met his employer in the middle of the maze. He could tell that she was already irritated with him, either about making her wait or not killing Link yet.

"What do you want?" Mitsurugi asked the white haired woman in a bored voice.

It was quite clear that Mitsurugi wasn't overly fond of his employer. He stayed with her only because she was an enemy of Taki and she provided him such a powerful warrior to fight. Plus, he knew that she had clues about Soul Edge. If it weren't for those reasons, he would have never served this woman, no matter how much money she offered him.

"It's about time, Samurai. You know how much I hate waiting."

"Whatever." Mitsurugi snorted, holding up a piece of paper. "Just be happy I could translate enough of this scribble. My own language is hard enough to read."

"Why didn't you take the girl when she was in your grasp?" Ivy questioned.

"Not my job." Mitsurugi responded. "You paid me to fight those who you are apparently incapable of defeating, not kidnap little children."

"I suggest you watch your mouth." Ivy hissed. "It so happens I defeated that elf one time already, and as for dealing with Taki, you haven't done any better. Now, about your new job." The white-haired woman changed the subject so she could get down to business. "I don't want you to kill the elf in your battle tomorrow."

"What? Why?" The samurai asked. "Is that not why you hired me? To dispose of Taki and the elf."

"Yes, that was the original plan, but I've discovered a much better use for him, one that will require him to remain alive. Fight him if you wish, but do not kill him, and make sure you intervene if someone else tries to."

"I'm a warrior, not a babysitter. The only reason why I took this job is so I could find a warrior worth fighting. There is no way I'm going to give up a chance to defeat that elf."

"You will do what I tell you to do. I've paid you too much money for you to back down on me now. Do you understand?" Ivy warned.

Ivy and Mitsurugi suddenly ceased their argument and drew their weapons, ready to battle.

"I though you made sure no one followed you?" Ivy accused.

"I did." Mitsurugi growled.

"There!" Ivy yelled, swinging her metal whip in the direction of two red lights coming out of the bushes, but before her attack could strike, the eyes vanished.

"He got away." Mitsurugi gasped.

"Yes, it appears Mr. Sorel has many tricks up his sleeves." Ivy commented.

**So where Amy dissapeared to was finally revealed. I hope everyone still likes this story and for those of you who have stuck with it, thanks. Please review (even if it is constructive criticism) and I'll try to get the next chapter up soon. **


	18. Chapter 17 The Finals

Ch. 17 The Finals

Link awoke early that morning to the sounds of birds chirping out his window. The Hylian warrior yawned as he stretched his arms. What a night. Between the assassination attempt on Princess Hilde and then Amy scaring him nearly half to death, he hadn't exactly gotten a good night's sleep. Oh well. He had gone into battles during wars with less sleep, so he doubted this would make a big difference.

"Amy, wake up." Link shook the girl gently.

"Is it morning already?"

"Yep." Link nodded.

"Just a few more minutes." The girl spoke.

"No, no we get up now. Busy day today. Need to do ocarina lesson now if want time."

The ocarina lesson seemed to give the girl the motivation she needed. She instantly got out of bed and was ready to play.

"First part of ocarina is how to blow. Blow gently, not hard or bad sound happens."

Link demonstrated by carefully placing his ocarina to his lips. He blew a soft note.

Amy tried to do the same, but her sound still wasn't nearly as clear as Link's. Then again, that should have been expected since the young warrior had been playing the ocarina for over a decade now.

"Good, now try again. Fix lips." Link instructed as he showed Amy adjust her lips.

"Next we learn to read notes." Link removed some manuscript paper from his bag. "Many different ways to read notes. This way is for ocarina." Link began.

"Link, I know how to read notes." Amy informed.

"You do?" Link asked surprised.

"My father made me learn the harpsichord."

"Oh." Link spoke. "Then we learn fingering next. This finger make this sound." Link pointed to the C on the staff, indicating what note he was playing since he didn't know note names in English.

Amy copied Link, playing a C.

"Good, now this one." Link pointed to a D on the staff this time and played it.

Link continued pointing to the notes and playing them as Amy mimicked him until she had learned a C major scale.

"That's enough for today. You need practice that before we continue."

"I need to go to semi-finals. You want to come." Link asked.

Amy nodded to Link and they headed towards the coliseum.

The first match of the day would be between the old warrior and Yoshimitsu. The semi-finals were the only rounds Link found interesting, since they would be the only rounds that Link couldn't predict who would win. Link could predict who he thought would win the match. If he had been a gambling man, he could have won a fortune at the bidding booth.

Link and Amy sat in the waiting area a few yards away from the ring. The seats weren't in the actual coliseum, but they were the best seats in the house if one wanted to watch the warriors. The other contestants were already in the waiting area. Yoshmitsu sipped tea, the old man meditated, and Mitsurugi leaned against the wall with an arrogant smirk on his face.

Amy couldn't help but give the samurai a cold glare. The samurai merely continued to smirk and ignored the red-eyed girl.

"Is everyone ready for this?" Link and the others heard the announcer yell to the audience. "This is the moment you have all been waiting for…The semi-finals! These four contestants have battled through thick and thin and conquered the mightiest of foes. Now they will compete against each in these next action-filled matches! Who will be victorious? Who will become the next champion?"

"He sure likes to talk." Mitsurugi grumbled to himself. "Get on with it already!" The samurai yelled at the announcer.

"And now it is the time! Ladies and gentlemen, hold on to your seats as this round begins. First, we have a masked samurai who defeats his opponents with his unique fighting style and agility. The man who has stands by the princess herself, Yoshimitsu!"

Yoshmitsu appeared in an explosion of smoke in the arena and began to show off his fighting technique by twirling and spinning his sword around expertly around his body.

"And we have one of the many surprises this tournament has given us. The warrior is an old man, who despite his age, has proven to be one of the greatest warriors this city has seen. Few warriors can even lay a finger on him in combat! Let's hear it for…"

As the No Name walked to the stage, the announcer was forced to turn and ask the old man what he wanted to be called.

"So, what's your name again?" The announcer asked.

"I never gave it, remember?" No Name reminded.

"Oh right." The announcer remembered now. "All right everyone, let's here it for the self-succeeded old man who needs no introduction, Mr. No Name!"

As the crowd applauded for No Name, the old man didn't respond, but merely stood and waited for them to stop.

"Pathetic." Mitsurugi grumbled. "These fools think fighting is some sort of entertainment for them to watch at their leisure, while none of them even know what a true warrior is capable of."

"Fighters, are you ready?" The announcer called. "And fight!"

Both warriors crouched into their fighting positions and the battle began. Yoshimitsu was the first to strike. He leapt into the air and spun head first towards No Name, his sword pointed in front of him like a drill. No Name simply closed his eyes and relaxed as the samurai's deadly attack approached.

'_What could he be planning?'_ Link wondered, watching No Name.

At the very last moment, No Name drew his blade and blocked the samurai's attack at the last moment. The old man then side stepped to avoid another attack from the Masked Samurai.

Yoshimitsu continued his quick assault, but his attacks were continuously blocked against the old man's own blade. The old man thrust his hand against Yoshimitsu's stomach, causing the masked samurai to skid backwards.

"Unbelievable speed." Yoshimitsu commented.

"The Manji Ninjutsu." The old man commented. "I'd have to say, I haven't seen that style in a while."

"How do you know that?" Yoshmitsu asked. The samurai then noticed blue symbols all over the old man's body and on the top of his forehead.

"Ah, now I know who you are." Yoshimitsu commented. "It's been a while since I tested my skill against you."

"Yes it has." The old man agreed. "Are you still out for revenge?"

"If I was, would I be helping the princess destroy Soul Edge and raise groups of chivalrous bandits to help the poor?"

"I suppose not. Now enough talk. I wish to end this so I can fight the one I'm here for."

"So be it." Yoshimitsu agreed.

The masked samurai leapt up and appeared to float on air as he slashed at the old man. The old man continued to block the samurai's attacks with equal ferocity. Yoshimitsu landed, but again leapt into the air, this time leaping several feet above No Name. Yoshmitsu stuck his blade between legs with the edge pointed down, putting all of his weight on top of the blade as he headed towards the old man's skull. The old man jumped out of the way as the sword collided with the ground, causing several pieces of rubble and dust to fly into the air.

Yoshmitsu's blade actually bounced up with Yoshmitsu still on top of the blade. While he was still in the air, Yoshimitsu gripped his sword and once again slashed at the old man.

Finally having enough, the old man caught Yoshimitu's attack with his bare hands and kicked the masked samurai in the stomach, causing him to skid backwards and out of the ring.

'_Okay, now I'm impressed.'_ Link thought.

"Mr. No Name has won the round and has moved on to the Finals. Our next match is between two highly skilled warriors. One of them appeared out of nowhere and defeated the mighty White Giant. His skill has been unmatched in the ring and no one has seen his entire face, although the ladies say he is quite a looker. Let's hear it for the mystic swordsman, Link."

Once again the crowd cheered wildly as Link walked up to the stage.

"And here's his opponent: a Master Swordsman who's hailed from Japan. His skill is superb and he….

"Will let us just get on with the match already!" Mitsurugi yelled.

"O.K., o.k." The announcer growled. "Fight begins. Yikes!"

The announcer barely had time to run out of the stage before Link and Mitsurugi charged at each other with their blades drawn. As soon as the two warrior's blades collided, lightening surrounded the blades and an explosion occurred, kicking up dust around the two warriors and destroying part of the arena.

Both warriors pushed against the other's blade with their own, trying to find out who had the superior strength. Link noticed Mitsurugi wasn't wearing his armor. Instead, the samurai wore a simple white martial art suit with a black belt.

"I figured that armor wouldn't help me in this battle against you. It would only slow me down. Besides, since you don't wear any armor, why should I?" The samurai commented.

The audience watched with eyes practically bursting out of their sockets. Their mouths hung open. They had never expected the two warriors to fight so viciously. Link and Mitsurugi's attacks and movements were so quick the audience barely had time to keep up with the two warriors.

"How…how is this even possible?" Of the guards stuttered to the princess.

"Just stay quiet and watch." Princess Hilde ordered. "We need to make sure neither of them kills each other."

'_Come on, Link. Beat him.' _Amy thought to herself as she watched the battle progress.

No Name simply just crossed his arms and smiled as he watched the two warriors try to gain advantage over the other. Unlike everyone else, he had less trouble keeping up with the warriors.

Mitsurugi was able to cut Link along the stomach across the stomach, but the elf didn't seem to notice he was injured as he continued to attack. He dodged Mitsurugi's blow by ducking, rolled to the side, and sliced the mercenary at the side. He then pushed off the ground and kicked the samurai, causing him to stumble backwards.

"Now this is the fight I've been waiting for." Mitsurugi laughed as he charged at Link.

Link jumped into the air and tried to bring his blade down on Mitsurugi, but the samurai dodged by rolling to the side. He tried to hit Link, but the elf blocked with his own blade. Link put Mitsurugi on the defensive as he continued to force the defending samurai backwards.

Link landed a clear hit on the samurai's chest. Mitsurugi jumped backwards from the blow just in time to avoid the attack, but he had still received some damage.

Once again the samurai charged towards Link as the two exchanged blow after blow. Both warriors had managed to injure each other, but Link seemed to have the advantage in the fight as he performed his signature move, the spin attack. Link jumped into the air and spun around with his sword out. Mitsurugi was able to avoid the attack, but it gave Link enough time to kick the samurai backwards.

Mitsurugi stumbled a few steps backwards and fell to one of his knees, panting. Link jumped backwards so that he was at the other end of the arena.

"You lose." Link informed.

"Ha, you think you won. Don't make me laugh." Mitsurugi growled. "I will not lose. Not here, not ever."

Lightning surrounded the samurai's body and sword as he called forth all of his strength. Mitsurugi swung his blade, releasing a blast of lightning. The lightning tore up the stage and headed in Link's direction.

The audience shook in their seat from amazement. They hadn't seen anything like this before.

"Link!" Amy yelled. "Watch out!"

Link stared at the attack with the utmost calmness, holding out his own blade as he began to charge it with his energy. Blue electricity began to form around the blade, making it glow. The blue electricity then began to increase and become the color of gold, making Link's sword look like a beam of light. Link ran towards the lightning with his now-charged blade and released his attack.

Link spun in the direction of Mitsurugi, reflecting the lightning with his blade. When Link was in range, Mitsurugi and Link's blade met once more, causing another explosion. When the smoke cleared, the audience could see the top half of Mitsurugi's blade spinning in the air. It landed next to the samurai as he now only held the handle of his blade. Link's blade appeared to have pierced through the samurai's blade and neck. However, those who had a clearer view could see that Link's blade was actually to the side of the samurai's neck, just an inch away from touching.

"Unbelievable." The samurai spoke. "And you weren't even at full power."

"What do you mean?" Link questioned.

"When you fight with all your strength, a triangle on your left hand begins to glow. I saw it when you fought against me the very first time and when you fought against that lizard. During this fight, that triangle didn't appear once."

"That because it not my power. That power only for emergencies and is dishonorable to use otherwise." Link informed taking his blade away from the samurai's neck. The elf sheathed his blade and walked away from the samurai.

"Wait, aren't you going to finish the fight." Mitsurugi asked.

"I already won." Link informed.

"What are you talking about? I'm not going by the rules of the tournament!" The samurai yelled. "I'm going by the rules of the blade. The only way one of us can win is if the other is sent to burn in hell. That is the way of the warrior."

Link turned to face the samurai. "True warriors don't need to kill to prove strength."

"So, this is why she wants you alive." Mitsurugi chuckled as he stood and left the ring from the opposite side. He left town to continue his training.

As Link left the arena, Amy ran to greet him. Link almost collapsed when Amy went to greet him.

"Link!" The girl cried.

The girl grabbed her friend to support him and found he was unusually light. Amy looked up to see the No Name support Link with one of his hands.

"That was quite a fight." The old man commented as he assisted Link out of the stadium. He then spoke in a whisper so that only Link's keen ears could pick up his next words. "Especially since you didn't use your Triforce piece."

Hilde and a couple of her men waited for Link at the exit of the coliseum.

"Due to Link's injuries, the finals will be postponed for a few hours." The princess announced to No Name. "Return here at four o'clock. I will take Link with me for treatment."

"Very well, my princess." The old man agreed, quickly bowing and then leaving.

"I O.K." Link assured, standing up on his own. Everyone but No Name seemed surprised by his quick recovery. "Only tired at first. Now fine."

"I'm surprised at your quick recovery, but still, I saw that slash you received on your chest. We need to treat it."

"Oh, but I O.K." Link tried to assure in a slightly nervous tone.

"Link, I will not have you die in my tournament. Now come on." Hilde ordered.

"Yes, Princess." Link responded unwillingly.

Link was lead into a room by Hilde to have his wounds dressed while Amy was forced to wait outside. At first, she tried to object, but Link assured her he would be O.K. As Amy waited, she sat against a wall and pouted.

Link sat in a chair as the princess herself looked at his wounds. Link didn't expect the princess to be the one bandaging him, yet she volunteered.

As Hilde looked at the warrior's wounds, she gasped.

"Link, your wounds have already closed, but how? This is impossible. I saw the blows that you received in battle and there is no way that they should be healed already."

"Wound wasn't deep." Link lied.

Link's magic allowed him to be a fast healer. His wounds healed at a much quicker rate than a normal person's. Even though his body couldn't restore lost blood as quickly as it could repair his skin, his healing abilities still prevented him from losing a lot of blood in battle.

"I see." Hilde remarked.

Before Link could react, the princess thrust her spear towards the warrior's head. Link jumped back, but wasn't quick enough as Hilde's spear hit Link's hood, knocking it back. The princess looked at Link's ears in shock as she pointed the spear towards his throat.

And so Link is the victor against Mitsurugi and now his next opponent will be Mr. No Name. (Assuming Hilde doesn't take Link down first.) Please review or criticize. Both are always appreciated.


	19. Chapter 18 Secret's Out

Hi everyone. Sorry for the wait, I had a really touch writing intensive summer class so I didn't have time to submit much. Luckily I'm on break now for about a month so I'll be updating my story more frequently until school starts again. Now with out further due, here is the next chapter.

Ch. 18 Secret's Out

"You're not human." She spoke in a calm voice.

"Correct." Link answered, keeping his voice low and calm despite the spear that was pointed at his throat.

"You don't seem overly scared of me." Hilde responded. She noticed the elf showed no fear in his eyes despite the fact his life was in danger.

"Should I be?" Link asked, still remaining calm.

"No, you shouldn't be." The princess assured as she lowered her spear. Link breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'm impressed with your bravery." Hilde complimented. "Few men I've ever met could have such bravery in their eyes when their life is in jeopardy."

"You test me?" Link guessed.

"And you're intelligent as well." Hilde flattered Link. "So you're an elf, right?"

"Yes." Link responded, still unsure what that term meant, but he agreed with her because it seemed everyone called him that.

"So you healed yourself using magic?" Hilde guessed.

"Yes." Link responded again, giving as little information as he could.

"That also explains why you are capable of fighting far beyond a normal human's abilities."

"Humans can fight like that." Link corrected. He had met more than one who was capable of doing so. They were rare, but it was possible. "Takes hard work."

"So, Link, where do you come from?" Hilde asked in a conversational tone, surprising Link. Despite the princess's initial shock, she had been able to calm herself easily.

"Far away." Link responded.

"I'm guessing you can't really explain with your lack of language."

"Yes." Link answered.

"Can you please tell me why you have come here then? Elves are only creatures of legend, yet here you are standing right in front of me. I wish to understand. It has something to do with Soul Edge, doesn't it?"

"Yes." Link answered. "Soul Edge threaten home. I destroy Soul Edge so it can't."

"I will not lie to you, but the reason I insisted on bringing you here is because I wanted to talk to you alone about Soul Edge. You seem to know a lot about it during dinner last night. What can you tell me? I need to know everything I can before going against it."

"It very evil, dangerous, and powerful. Hurt you when use it."

"Yes, I have actually heard similar stories." Hilde answered. "From what I have heard, it is a demonic sword and possesses any who wields it. Even a fragment can take control of a person's body."

Link's head suddenly perked up. That explained the effects those fragments had on him when he first tried to collect them. He knew that his Triforce had protected him.

"Do you know if those stories are true?" Hilde asked.

"Don't know?" Link answered truthfully. "Possibly."

"I see." Hilde responded. "Well, thank you for your services, Link. You seem fine to fight in the finals. I wish you luck. Oh, Link? One more thing?"

"What?"

"Are you still going to leave after the tournament? I can tell that you are hero, and you've already saved my life once. I would still love to have you in my army. When we succeed in destroying Soul Edge, you would be greatly rewarded. You would be known as a hero throughout the land and possibly a future ruler." Hilde hinted.

"Truly sorry, but can't." Link responded, understanding the hint. "Can only serve elf princess. Also, must destroy Soul Edge alone."

As Link walked out of the room Hilde sighed.

"Why must the heroic knights look and act alike? That's the second rejection I've received this month."

"That's because you are young, your highness, and full of passion." Yoshimitsu spoke, walking out of the shadows. "Passion for both your country and for someone to love."

"I only hope that he and Siegfried don't get themselves killed. They both seemed determined to fight alone."

"Perhaps because they too are young, or perhaps they understand something that we do not." Yoshimitsu spoke.

"Anyway, we should get back to the tournament."

"Agreed."

As Link left the room, Amy jumped up, ready to go.

"You look ready." Link chuckled.

"The sooner we get out of here, the better." Amy spoke.

Link walked back to the coliseum where No Name waited patiently. The old man's arms were crossed and he had a smile on his face.

"Well, you certainly made a quick recovery." No Name spoke. "Here you go."

The old man tossed Link a small bottle of blue liquid. Link, knowing exactly what it was, looked at the old man with surprise.

"Even with your healing arts, I doubt you regained all of your blood and energy from your last fight." The old man spoke. "It would be unfair to fight you if you can't give your full efforts."

The old man left.

"How does he know all of this?" Link wondered. No matter, Link opened the bottle and drank the blue potion, instantly feeling his strength return to him. He felt ready for battle.

Once Princess Hilde took her seat in the coliseum, the word was given for the finals to begin, and the announcer ran outside to give the word.

"All right folks, this is what everyone has been waiting for. The finals! Link and Mr. No Name have each battled against countless opponents these past few days. The only question remaining is who will win this final round? Who will be the next champion and walk away with the grand prize of a bag full of gold? We will soon find out. Let the fight begin!"

Link and No Name walked into their respected corners and waited for the bell to ring before they drew their weapons.

"Link, I'd like to speak to you before we start fighting." No Name spoke in perfect Hylian.

"What is it, and how do you know so much about my people?" Link asked, now speaking in his native tongue. "Knowledge of the Triforce has been kept a secret by the royal family. Only they, the Sheikah, and a few select others know about it. Plus, you know how to make a blue potion and you speak Hylian very clearly."

"Right now that is not important. You came here to this world to destroy Soul Edge?"

"Yes, that is correct. It threatened my world, and now it wishes to destroy this world."

"That fool." No Name muttered. "To think he would be so foolish as to create such a demonic blade."

"What? Who?" Link asked.

"Never mind, it's not important. Right now is this fight."

"What are they doing?" One of audience members asked.

"Its looks like they're talking, but in some weird language." Another audience member replied.

"Well I didn't come here for them to talk. I want to watch the fight." The first audience member yelled. "Come on, get on with it already!"

The audience members began to yell at Link and No Name to fight, but the two warriors ignored the audience and continued their conversation.

"Who are you really?" Link asked. "I have no intention to fight you. All I want is answers."

"They call me Edge Master, if you want to learn more, you'll have to defeat me by playing by my rules."

"And what are those?" Link asked.

"First of all, you will not use your Triforce or Master Sword in this battle." Edge Master spoke.

"No Master Sword?"

"That is correct." Edge Master spoke. "I want to see what just you can do. No blades and no Triforce magic, just our skills in our own forms of martial arts. There will also be times when I ask you to switch weapons. Don't worry; if you don't have them, I usually carry spares." Edge Master tapped a small pouch that he carried on his belt.

"Very well, I agree to these standards."

"It's been awhile since I've battled someone with Sheikah or Royal Knight training. It will be very interesting." Edge Master chuckled.

Link tossed his Master Sword and Hylian Shield out of the ring and removed a plain, non-magical sword and shield out of the pack he carried with him.

The audience seemed surprised as they watched him remove an item larger than the bag itself.

"I should warn you though; I fought with normal swords and without magic long before I retrieved the Master Sword. If you think that'll handicap me, you're wrong." Link warned.

"Oh, I hope it doesn't." Edge Master responded.

Link already noticed that Edge Master wore boots with blades at the bottom, a method of fighting that one of his earlier opponents he used, and if Edge Master's pouch was anything like his, there was no telling what weapons the old man carried.

"Well, here goes." Link growled as he charged towards the old man.

Edge Master removed a pair of elbow blades, just like the weapons Talim used, and blocked Link's attack with them.

"Those weapons!" Link gasped.

"Oh, you recognize them?" Edge Master chuckled as he blocked several of Link's blows and retaliated with his own. Link blocked the man's attacks with his sword and shield, but even he had to admit the old man was tough. His fighting style was similar to Talim's, but Link also recognized moves from other opponents. Luckily, Link knew how to counter these styles of combat, though it was much more difficult when the old man could switch his style of fighting randomly.

"I see you recognize some of my techniques." Edge Master chuckled. "You must have met Talim along the way."

"How do you know her?" Link asked as he continued to block the old man's attacks.

"I met her while she traveled and taught her some basics of self-defense. I hope she's doing well. She was such a pure-hearted individual. But keep in mind; I know a lot more about fighting than a small, sixteen year old girl."

Edge Master slashed at Link, who jumped back from the attack. Link looked down to see his tunic had been torn, but he was fine.

"Now it is time for me to show you a trick I taught a pirate in Japan." Edge Master claimed as he put away his elbow blades and pulled out two nunchakus. Edge Master rushed at Link, wielding his pair of nunchakus with as much skill as he wielded the elbow blades.

Link blocked the attacks with his shield and jumped high into the air. The old man may have great skill with a wide variety of weapons, but there was no way he could compete with his physical strength or speed.

"Rising Dragon of the Zodiac Kick!" Edge Master yelled as he jumped into the air towards Link. Flames surrounded his leg as he aimed a kick towards Link.

Link was in shock. He'd never seen an attack like this before and didn't have time to dodge it. The Hylian quickly raised his shield to protect himself from the mighty kick. A burst of flames exploded from the contact of Link's shield and the old man's foot. The kick was so strong Link's shield began to crack from the impact. Edge Master grabbed Link's arm and flung him to the ground.

Link was able to recover quickly and land on his feet, causing the arena under him to crack. He lunged out of the way to dodge a blast of lightening from Edge Master as the old man plummeted towards the Hylian. Once again, the old man switched weapons and now used a samurai sword.

By this time, the audience watched wide-eyed.

"Your highness, if this keeps up, we're not going to have much of an arena left." One of the guards commented.

"Let them fight." Hilde ordered. "The people paid to watch a good fight, and they're going to get a better one than expected."

"Yes, but they're moving so fast, we can barely keep track of the action." The guard protested.

"Then watch more carefully." Hilde suggested.

Link continued to fight against the old man who was now fighting like Mitsurugi. The old man jumped into the air and descended towards Link, using the same move Yoshimitsu had used against him in their fight.

Link avoided the attack. Edge Master's sword bounced up and the old man performed a flip in the air behind Link, holding his blade like a rapier. Link spun around and blocked the old man's thrusts with his own blade, then jumped back, panting from the continuous dodging and blocking.

The old man wasn't the most powerful opponent Link had ever fought, but he was definitely the most skilled. It was as if he could read Link's mind and stay one step ahead of him in the battle. Every time Link made a move, the old man seemed to predict it and block it with his own attack. Link wished he knew this old man when he had to fight Ganondorf and countless of other villains. He would have come in handy.

"Not bad." Edge Master commented. "Time for our second round. Do you have a bow staff?"

"I have a Deku Stick." Link commented.

"Good enough." The old man commented, taking out a bow-staff from his pouch. "Our next fight will be between bow staffs."

"Very well." Link agreed as he removed a well-made Deku Stick that had been crafted into a bow staff.

Link attacked Edge Master with his Deku Stick, but the old man blocked his blows easily. Even though Link specialized with swords, he knew enough about combat to wield a variety of weapons without much difficulty. He had fought so many opponents who used weapons such as maces and bow staffs; he knew their strengths and weakness well. Link was knowledgeable about weapons, but he felt he knew nothing compared to this old man.

Edge Master tried to trip Link with his bow staff, but Link foresaw this attack and quickly hopped into the air to avoid the attack. Link tried to block the attack with his own weapon, but the Edge Master's bow staff smashed right through Link's Deku Stick and hit Link in the stomach. The Hylian fell to his back.

"Now its time to fight with spears." Edge Master informed, putting his bow-staff back into his pocket and pulling out a finely crafted spear. Link quickly drew a spear from his own bag. It was one he had taken from a dead moblin and one he could use to perform magic, but since Link agreed not to use magic with the weapons, he would have to use it as an ordinary spear.

Edge Master was the first to attack this time. Link side-stepped several times to avoid the attack and then thrust his spear towards the old man. The old man once again performed an unthinkable move by tossing his spear to the side and catching Link's with his bare hand.

Such a move normally wouldn't have impressed Link. He had seen this done many times, but the speed that Edge Master was able to perform showed how skilled he truly was.

Edge Master pulled Link's spear out of his hand and then tripped Link with it. Edge Master stabbed towards Link's chest, but the Hylian quickly rolled out of the way right before the blow made contact.

"You know, we're not supposed to kill each other." Link informed.

"Who said I'm trying to kill you?" The old man asked, tossing Link's spear back to him and picking up his own. "I had a feeling you could dodge that and even if you couldn't I would have just redirected my attack at the very last moment so that it would have it your shoulder instead of your heart."

"That's a technique that only one of my former sensei knows." Link informed.

"Yes, but who do you suppose taught Impa that technique in the first place?" Edge Master inquired. "Next, knives."

Edge Master withdrew a ninja knife from his pack and Link drew his Razor-sword, once again facing Edge master with a new weapon as he attacked. Link knew how to use knives from his child hood experience, and fought as if it was a sword with very short range. Edge Master on the other hand had developed a style of fighting exclusively for a knife and greatly resembled Taki's style.

Edge Master blocked Link's blows and then spun around behind the Hylian warrior and stabbed him in the back with his knife and kicked Link, causing the Hylian to fall to his stomach.

There was a sudden gasp in the audience, as Link got to his hands on knees, preparing to pull himself up again. No one would have expected him to take as much damage as he did and still be able to get back up.

"Your highness." One of the guards spoke to Hindle. "I thought killing one another was forbidden in this tournament. If this fight continues in this manner, we may have a death to deal with."

"I know." The princess responded. She stood and began to exit her balcony to the arena. "I'll take care of this."

Link rose to his feet and pulled the knife out of his back and threw it towards Edge Master. The old man simply caught the blade and put it back into his pocket.

"Our final fight will be swords." Edge Master spoke as he removed knight's sword from his pack.

"Finally." Link chuckled, wiping some blood from his mouth. "I've been waiting for this."

Link put his knife back into his bag and once again took out his blade, ready for battle.

"Throughout this fight, you had an advantage because you seemed to have so many different styles of fighting." Link spoke. "However, I too know more than one style of fighting with a sword."

"That is very good. Please don't disappoint me." Edge Master responded.

Link and Edge Master ran towards each other, both charging their weapons with their energies and collided their swords together, causing an explosion similar to the one caused by Link and Mitsurugi's fight. Link flipped over Edge Master and then began to jab at him in a fencing style. Link's attacks were relentless and so fast that the audience members couldn't tell the difference between Link's afterimages and his true attacks.

Somehow, Edge Master was able to keep track of Link's movements and block the majority of his attacks. A few managed to land their marks. Lightning formed around Edge Master's free hand and he punched the ground with it, causing an explosion. A large cloud of dust formed around Link and the old man.

The audience watched in anticipation, wondering who would appear of the dust. Link was the first seen, performing one of his hurricane spin attacks. He seemed to practically fly out of the dust. Edge Master following, slashing at Link, and trying to find an opening in the Hylian's hurricane spin attack. He was unsuccessful.

"Looks like this round is over." Edge Master panted.

"Agreed." Link responded, his green tunic badly torn.

Link and Edge Master charged towards each other one last time, their swords colliding. Both of them continued to push against the other's blade, trying to push the other backwards. Lightning formed around Edge Master's fist as he prepared to punch Link in the stomach with his attack, but fire appeared around Link's fist. As their fists collided, another explosion occurred, knocking both Link and Edge Master backwards.

Link fell to all fours, blood dripping from his various wounds as he panted heavily. Edge Master also panted and blood dripped from his few wounds, though he wasn't nearly as injured as Link. Link began to rise to his feet, even though his whole body was shaking. He knew he couldn't give up.

"Link, if you continue this fight, one of us will die very soon, and it probably won't be me."

"I'm not going to back down." Link growled. "Not until you tell me what you know."

"A smart warrior knows when to back down." Edge Master warned.

"That's enough!" Hilde ordered from the side of the coliseum. "This fight is way out of hand. You two have already destroyed the arena. If this keeps up, I won't have a coliseum and both of you will be dead."

"Perhaps we did over do it." Edge Master agreed, speaking English to the queen. "Link, as your respectable opponent, I yield to you."

The old man returned his sword back to his pouch and dropped to one knee, bowing to the Hylian.

"What the heck? Why are you yielding?" One of audience members yelled.

"Yeah, you were winning!" Another shouted.

"Princess, overrule him!" A third yelled.

"That's enough." The princess ordered. "If No Name wishes to yield, then he is allowed by tournament rules. Link is our new champion."

Hilde approached Link and helped him stand as she held his arm in the air. Several audience members clapped and cheered for the young warrior.

As Edge Maser walked out of the coliseum, Link began to follow.

"Excuse me, your highness." Link bowed to Hilde before he gave chase to the old man, limping as he walked. Amy quickly ran over to Link, supporting him so he wouldn't fall.

"Edge Master, wait!" Link called.

"The deal was if you could beat me, I would tell you want you need to know." Edge Master spoke in Hylian as he turned to face Link. "According to tournament rules, you won. Therefore, I will give you some advice. For about a month, I have sensed your presence in this world, Hero of Time. I knew you must have been sent here to destroy Soul Edge. However, I should warn you, if you thought I was a strong opponent, then you have no idea of Soul Edge's strength. When a person comes in contact with one of Soul Edge's shards, the blade tries to take control of that person. When the shard succeeds, it not only influences that person's decision making, but it also learns their fighting style. Soul Edge has the knowledge of hundreds of warriors, each with a different style of fighting, and many of those warriors were most likely masters at their arts."

"I don't understand." Link spoke. "When I fought Soul Edge, it only used one strategy of fighting."

"That's because you most likely fought Siegfried Schtauffen, the person who is currently possessed by Soul Edge. From what I have heard, he is currently free from its grasp. If you were to actually fight Soul Edge, you would face the true daemon that resides in the blade; Inferno, a fiery creature that knows hundreds of different fighting techniques."

"Has anyone ever defeated something that powerful before?" Link asked.

"Yes, but Inferno was only half as strong as he is now, and he is still growing in power as more shards come to him."

"Will I even be able to beat him?" Link asked.

"If you train hard and learn to counter every style of fighting possible, then yes, but you still have much to learn. However, I know that in the end, you will be able to win." The old man then turned and began to walk away.

"Who are you?" Link asked, wanting his second question to be answered.

"The best answers are often found out on your own, my young student." Edge Master called.

"Master Edge Master." Link spoke one last time, bowing to the old man as if he was his sensei. "Thank you for this information and for showing me that even I have room for improvement."

"No problem, young one. Oh, and one more thing. Don't fear the darkness in your heart."

With those words, the old man vanished in a small explosion of smoke, leaving a bottle of red liquid where he was.

"I don't like him." Amy informed.

"He good person." Link informed as he picked up the bottle of red potion and drank it. Amy watched as the potion unbelievably healed Link of all of his wounds and restored his lost blood.

Hilde rushed to Link to make sure the elf was O.K.

"I see you made yet another miraculous recovery." The princess stated. "I'm guessing you're still going to leave?"

"Yes."

"Well, I guess it's for the best. Due to your battles, people are going to start asking questions about whom and what you are. Here is the money you won for being the champion of the tournament."

Hilde handed Link a large bag of money.

"Good luck on your travels and be careful. I can give you room and board for one more night."

"Thank you." Link thanked the princess. "Please be careful as well."


	20. Chapter 19 Regrouping

Hi everyone. I would like to thank everyone who is still reading this story. I know several people have asked when Link is going to meet up with the rest of the group. We'll to those who have asked me that question, you're about to be in a for a little treat.

Ch. 19 Regrouping

Talim and the others continued their journey to find Link. Apparently, the elf had somehow acquired a horse and appeared to travel towards a large town.

"It seems like we're getting closer." Talim announced. Her optimistic attitude seemed to increase as their distance from Link decreased.

"You seem unusually happy today." Mina commented, happy to see the girl's attitude change from her depressed state a couple of nights ago.

"I'm just excited we'll finally see Link again." Talim responded. "It's been so long since we last saw each other."

"Oh please, it's only been about a week." Yun-Seong snorted. "I'm sure he'll be as annoying and stupid as ever."

"You'd better watch your mouth unless you want another lesson in manners, young man." Mina warned, pointing her weapon towards Yun-Seong.

The fiery teen gulped as he remembered Mina's "training" earlier that morning.

"Personally, I hope we do find that friend of yours soon, Talim." Mina announced. "I'd really like to see if he's as tough as you say he is. Hopefully he's not all talk like Yun-Seong."

"Hey!" Yun-Seong objected.

"You're not going to try to fight him, are you?" Talim asked with worry in her voice.

"Don't worry, Talim. I'm not going to _fight_ him. We'll just have a little friendly sparring contest. It will seem like nothing compared to my daily training routines with Yun-Seong."

Taki stopped in her tracks. She had been preoccupied and seemed abnormally distant from the rest of the group, even for her.

"Taki, what's wrong." Talim asked.

"Something just doesn't feel right." Taki announced. "Someone…or something has been following us."

"But I haven't sensed anything."

"I know, but I do. Stay on your toes." The ninja warned, drawing her weapon over her back.

Taki had been right. Someone was watching, and that someone was the black-dressed nobleman, Raphael Sorel. He watched in the distance on a tall hill covered with brush and trees for cover. It was impossible for anyone to spot him, even if they tried.

"It appears the ninja knows I'm here, though, I highly doubt she can see me." Raphael murmured to himself. "No matter. Make sure if you can kill anyone, it will be her, Sir Durer."

A low growl answered Raphael as a man, or what had once been a man, appeared behind Raphael. The being was dressed head to toe in heavy silver armor. He was the leader of the Berserkers, a group of warriors who were once knights of the Holy Roman Empire, but were now nothing but killing machines due to their exposure to Soul Edge.

"Take all of your men if you need to, but the ninja is our main threat right now. After that, kill the rest." The wicked nobleman informed.

The large armored figure nodded, indicating it understood its orders and left.

As Talim continued to lead the group towards Link, she stopped, drawing her elbow blades.

"I sense danger approaching now as well." The girl informed.

The group heard a roar and looked to see a group of large, armored foes charging them. The enemies carried large war axes, spears, swords, and maces. The entire group now drew their weapons, preparing for the oncoming battle.

"Everyone, circle up." Taki ordered. "Watch each other's backs and prepare for battle."

**********

After a good night's sleep, Link packed his supplies as he prepared to leave the castle with Amy. His battle against Edge Master replayed in his head. It looked like even he still had skills to improve on. As Link packed, he looked at his green tunic. He knew he would be in trouble when he got home. Link's tunic was made of special fabric with magical capabilities considered rare for even Hyrule. The tunic had been handed down from generation to generation of heroes. Hopefully, Link would be able to find someone skilled enough to fix his tunic. Link had a spare tunic that could protect him in battle and contained the similar functions of his green tunic. Link pulled out a purple tunic and put it on.

Amy seemed to turn towards Link as he put on his tunic and gave him an odd look.

"Ready, Amy?" Link asked.

"Yes." Amy responded.

As Amy and Link walked through the castle, Amy was surprised she didn't see Princess Hilde anywhere.

"Where's the princess?" Amy asked.

"Don't know." Link admitted. The princess seemed quite hurt that he had rejected her on her proposals of marriage and becoming her knight, but he couldn't do either of those, and she would have to understand. Besides, he didn't plan on staying in this world. He didn't belong here. Even though he had made great friends, he couldn't stand the lack of magic. The only thing Link worried about was Amy. She relied on him now and he couldn't just leave her somewhere, but he didn't know if he could bring her to his world. Link didn't dare leave her at an orphanage due to the girl's lack of trust towards others. She would need someone warm and loving that could fill the emptiness in her heart.

As Link and Amy exited the town, Link noticed a weapons store and Amy had her eye on a rapier displayed in the window.

Link suddenly remembered Amy wanted to learn to fight. Despite his better judgment, he wondered if it might be a good idea to teach her to defend herself.

"You want to go in?" Link asked.

Amy looked up at Link and nodded.

"All right." Link entered the shop, causing a small bell to ring on top of the door.

"Eek, a customer!" A young blond girl dressed in a blue maid's outfit cried out. The girl quickly jumped behind the counter and bowed.

"It is nice to meet you sir. Hey, Valeria! We have a costumer!" The girl yelled up the stairs.

"It's about time." A young red-headed woman wearing a black, low-cut dress and white apron spoke. "So, what do you need, sir?" The woman took a good look at Link. "Say, I remember you?"

"What?" Link asked.

"Yeah, we fought in the tournament." The woman announced. "Remember these?"

The woman pulled up her skirt to reveal boots with knives sticking out the back of them. Link instantly recognized the woman's face once he saw her weapons. There was a woman who specialized in kickboxing and had knives attached to the boots. Link had hardly recognized her because she was dressed for battle in the tournament.

"That was quite an embarrassing defeat you gave me." The woman teased.

"Umm, sorry." Link tried to apologize, even though he didn't know why. He had defeated most of his opponents in record time, and she hadn't been any different.

"But don't you worry, I don't hold a grudge." The woman flirted. "After all, who could stay mad at such a cute face?"

Link became worried and stumbled backwards a step. It was his usual reaction when a woman so openly flirted with him.

Amy, on the other hand, merely gave the shopkeeper a heated glare.

"So what'll it be?" The blond girl asked. "We have swords, armor, axes, and virtually any combative item you can find. Better quality than you'll find anywhere, too.

"We need sword." Link informed.

"Oh, a sword." The blond clerk repeated. "Hey, Hualin, we got a guy who wants a sword!" The blond girl called upstairs.

This time, a third shopkeeper emerged from the stairs. Her brown hair was tied in two buns and she wore an orange and red dress. Glasses surrounded her pretty eyes. Her face seemed to have features similar to Yun-Seong and Taki, but there were enough differences to indicate she was from a different tribe or country than Taki and Yun-Seong.

"Well, aren't you a handsome fellow?" Hualin smiled at Link. "You need a sword, right? Well, let me fit you then."

Without a warning, the girl grabbed Link and began to feel his arms, and she touched his chest Link immediately pulled away.

"No." Link objected.

"Oh, don't worry sir, this is just standard procedure." Hualin assured. "You see, to get the right sword for you, we need to know things like your height, limb length, muscle strength, and all that stuff, and the only way of finding that stuff out is well, finding it out."

Even though the girl spoke the truth, she seemed to have enjoyed grabbing Link a little too much, thus she too had Amy glaring at her.

"Not me, her." Link pointed to Amy.

"Her?" Hualin asked surprised. "Well if you say so, you are the paying customer."

Hualin took Amy's arm and began to feel her muscles and measured her arm. The whole time Amy didn't look at the three shopkeepers once.

"You're a little small." Hualin commented. "What kind of weapon did you have in mind anyway?"

"Rapier." Amy responded with out even looking at the shopkeeper.

"A rapier, eh? Well, how about this one?" The shop keeper handed Amy a rapier from the window. "I know it's not much, but it's the best we can do for someone of your size."

"It's fine." Amy assured in her normal, dreary voice.

"Can you thank her?" Link asked the girl.

"Thank you." Amy responded without looking the girl in the face.

After Amy had received her new weapon, Link paid the three women for the blade and left after bowing to them respectfully.

"Need to interact with people better." Link lectured Amy as they headed out of town, recalling Amy's attitude in the weapon's shop.

"I only interact with those I trust." Amy responded.

Link decided not to push the argument further with Amy and thus the two continued out of town. Epona waited for Link. Unlike most horses, Epona didn't need to be tied up. Even though she would often roam the fields for water and exercise, she always returned to the place Link had left her if he would need her again.

"Ready Epona?" Link asked his trusty stead. The horse snorted in agreement and seemed to nod.

Link jumped onto Epona and then assisted Amy up.

"Where are we going?" Amy asked.

Link closed his eyes and listened to the wind as it blew through his hair.

"That way." Link pointed the way they had come.

"Didn't we come from there?" Amy questioned.

"Yes, but wind says that way."

"Well, O.K." Amy sighed.

Epona raced across the landscape with the same lightening speed that she traveled when she brought Link and Amy to town. As Epona reached the top of a hill, she stopped and neighed in defiance to go any further.

"What's wrong?" Link asked his partner, knowing she would only stop with good reason.

Link peered down a hill and saw several black dots. Apparently, there was something about those dots that frightened Epona. Link removed a telescope from his backpack and looked through it, causing his mouth to gape open. Talim, Cassandra, Yun-seong, Taki, and a young female that he didn't recognize were fighting a group of Iron Knuckles.

"Amy, friends are in trouble. I need to help. When get close, you hide." Link ordered as he jumped off of Epona, and he and the girl ran down the hill to help the others.

*******

Taki's plan of staying in a circle hadn't gone the way she had planned, for the Berserkers had easily outnumbered them. Talim could barely fight off the one Berserker. Yun-Seong and Cassandra, who had the ability to defeat one, were forced to battle two, making the battle nearly impossible for them. Taki fought the leader of the Berserkers and two others, putting her at a disadvantage. The only one who was doing O.K. in the battle was Mi-na, who was fending off both of the Berserkers attacking her.

Cassandra blocked one of the Berserker's attacks with her sword and hit it in its head with her shield, causing it to stumble backwards. She then stabbed it in the side of the stomach where its armor had a weak spot, killing it. However, as she was dealing with the one Berserker, the second sneaked behind her and was about to slay her with his massive ax.

"Cassandra, watch out!" Yun-Seong warned as a monster was about to strike her from behind.

Cassandra turned around to see a Berserker about to kill strike, and everyone else could only watch as she was about to be struck down.

"Tee ya!" A male voice yelled as a sword sliced the armored foe perfectly in half.

Everyone, including the Berserkers, ceased their fighting to see who the new warrior was and the group of heroes faces lit up with joy they saw who was present.

"Link!" Talim squealed excitedly.

Link gave everyone an almost mischievous smile and nodded to them. Link pointed his blade outward, holding it with both hands as he used its magic to cause it to grow in length until it had to have been at least six feet in length and about an inch wider.

"Let's see how tough you Iron Knuckles are when our weapons are of equal length." Link challenged the creatures, speaking in Hylian.

One of the creatures slashed at Link, but the hero easily avoided the attack and jumped into the air. Link performed a cartwheel mid air and then kicked off the back of the Iron Knuckle's head. He then flipped over the Iron Knuckles and landed next to Taki to help her. Link knew that he had evened the odds, and the younger warriors could take care of themselves while Link assisted Taki against her three warriors.

"I take big." Link informed, dodging the large Iron Knuckle's swinging ax by ducking and then rolling to the side.

This Iron Knuckle was slightly larger than the ones Link was used to battling and also seemed slightly stronger and faster as well. A normal Iron Knuckle was hard enough for any ordinary warrior to battle, and this one could easily kill a warrior with ease. However, Link was no ordinary warrior.

Cassandra, Mi-na, Yun-Seong, and Talim had finished defeating their opponents when Cassandra noticed a small, red-headed girl approaching the battle field with a rapier in her hand. This was defiantly no place for a small child.

"Hey you, get out of here!" Cassandra yelled at the girl, running towards her with Yun-Seong, Mi-na, and Talim.

Amy suddenly jumped back from this blonde-haired girl and her friends and pointed her weapon at them, ready to fight if they attacked. These people were probably the friends Link talked about. She recognized some of them, but that didn't mean she trusted them. They could lash out at her just like so many people did.

"Put it down, kid, unless you someone to get hurt." Yun-Seong warned.

"Are you so pathetic you have to threaten a child?" Cassandra lectured the teenager.

"It's O.K." Mi-na tried to assure the girl. "We're not going to hurt you."

When Mi-na tried to take the girl's weapon's though, she pulled away from the Korean and pointed her blade at her.

"Don't any of you know anything about kids?" Cassandra sighed. "For goodness sakes, she's scared and you're crowding her. Just step away."

Everyone backed away from the girl as Cassandra bent down to her knees so that she was more at the girl's height.

"Hey, don't worry. We're friends of Link. You know him, don't you? My name's Cassandra. What's yours?"

Amy didn't know why, but there was something about this woman. Maybe it was because she reminded her of Link. She seemed trustworthy. Amy slowly sheathed her blade and stepped towards the blonde-haired woman.

Link dodged another blow from the monster's ax and slashed at it with his sword. Link knew the only way to defeat an Iron knuckle was to destroy it completely, so he prepared.

Link leaped away from the Iron Knuckle, dodging another swing of its ax. He then began to charge his sword with his magic, making it glow with a gold aura. Link lunged towards the large Iron Knuckle, dodging another attack and slicing off its arm. Link then spun around, performed a spin attack, and cut the armored foes to shreds. When Link's enemy finally fell, he noticed the blood that had stained his enemy. Link looked at himself, thinking that he had been injured, but finally noticed that the blood was his opponent's. Link gasped as he took of the creature's helmet and noticed the strange face on it.

It looked like a cross from a human's and a monster's face. Its skin was peach, but its teeth were sharp with fangs sticking out of its mouth and its eyes glowed red.

"What is that thing?" Link asked himself. He had seen a lot of monsters in his life, but he couldn't classify this one. It looked so human, yet it wasn't.

"It's called a Berserker." Taki explained, sheathing her bloodied knife. "They were once normal, good, humans but they were corrupted by Soul Edge."

"Soul Edge did that? It can do a lot of damage?"

"We haven't even scratched the surface." Taki informed. "Soul Edge is the greatest evil ever."

'_That's actually possible.'_ Link thought to himself. _'I thought Ganondorf and the Fierce Deity were the greatest forces of evil. Yet, this blade definitely is in the same rank as them.'_ Link's thoughts were suddenly interrupted to thinking of Amy and the others.

"Amy." Link called.

"I'm over here, Link." Amy spoke, next to Cassandra and the others.

"Link!" Both Cassandra and Talim yelled as they ran towards the young hero and tackled him in a hug.

Link lay on the ground, blushing with an awkward look on his face.

Amy glared at both of the girls.

"O.K., I think you two can get off him now." Taki informed.

"Oh right. Sorry Link." Talim blushed, as both she and Cassandra got off the Hylian.

"So, you're Link, right?" Mi-na asked. She approached to the Hylian and looked at him straight in the eyes while smiling flirtatiously. Link seemed to back away with an awkward look on his face. "You're a little bashful, but judging by how you just fought, you're everything I've heard."

"Um…thank you." Link responded.

"Oh yeah, you don't know Mi-na, do you, Link." Talim announced. "Link, this is Mi-na. She's really nice and a good warrior. We're all really happy you're back, Link. We were all very worried about you. Even Yun-Seong."

"Was not!" The teenager yelled.

"Don't listen to him." Talim giggled. "He doesn't want to admit it. Anyways, you'd better not do anything like that again, got it?" Talim put her hands to her hips as if she was lecturing a child, causing the elf warrior to chuckle.

Amy walked up next to Link, glaring at Mi-na and Talim.

'_There is something very strange about that child?'_ Taki thought. "Link, we should continue gathering the pieces of Soul Edge. I'd also like to talk to you later tonight alone."

Link looked into Taki's piercing eyes, and they were as serious as ever. Even if she was happy to see Link, she was too busy thinking about the trials at hand to show it.

Link nodded, agreeing to Taki's request.

"Boy, are you a sour person, Taki." Mi-ma perked up. "So, is everyone ready for some more traveling? It would be nice to cover some ground before it gets dark."

"Agreed." Taki nodded. "Be on your guard though. It is clear we have several enemies and they will most likely strike again. Talim, which way do we go?"

"The wind tells me this way." The girl informed as she turned to the right.

Link whistled for Epona, who galloped towards him. The elf helped Amy onto the horse as it followed its master faithfully.

"Link, when did you get a horse?" Cassandra asked Link. Talim had been questioning Link nonstop about his time away from them. Link was able to explain most of his adventures to them, although he tried to keep the subject off Amy since she didn't seem to want people to talk about her, or talk to her, for that matter.

"Epona came from my land." Link informed. "Wind god brought her here."

"Yeah, like that's believable." Yun-Seong snorted.

"Yun-Seong, do not call Link a liar." Talim lectured.

"Amy, you seem right at home up there." Cassandra commented. With exception of Link, Cassandra seemed to be the only one who could communicate with Amy. The girl clearly hated Talim for some reason and Yun-Seong wasn't exactly good with children. Taki and Amy had already competed in a glaring contest, which Link could guess wasn't a good sign, and Mi-na was more interested in socializing with Talim or beating up Yun-Seong than interacting with Amy.

Cassandra had once told Link she had a niece and nephew that she helped take care, so Link figured she must have picked up some parenting skills from that, which was probably why she was able to interact with the girl.

"My papa owned horses." Amy informed.

"Oh, that's nice. You seem like a good rider for someone so young." Cassandra smiled. She was surprised that Amy had even mentioned her family. Link hadn't said a thing about Amy's family, and when Cassandra had asked Amy earlier, the girl had just turned her head away.

"It's getting dark." Taki announced. "We should make camp here. Does anyone sense any danger?"

The group seemed to scan the ground around. Link, Taki, and Talim closed their eyes to use their other senses to find out if danger was nearby, but none of them sensed anything.

"Good, we should be safe then." The ninja assured.

"I'll collect fire wood." Cassandra offered.

"I'll come too." Link announced. The elf then turned to Amy who was about to follow. "Can you stay here?"

The girl appeared upset, but said nothing.

"Don't worry. I be right back." Link promised. "Won't even notice I gone."

When Link and Cassandra had ventured far enough away from the group, Link finally mentioned what he wished to talk to Cassandra about.

"Cassandra, what should I do with Amy when I leave?" Link asked.

"What do you mean 'leave'?" Cassandra asked staring at Link down now. "You don't plan on disappearing on us, do you?"

"No, not that. When Soul Edge destroyed, I go back to my land. May not be able to bring Amy with. What should I do? Can't abandon her."

"Why ask me this?" Cassandra questioned. "And you can't leave!"

"Cassandra, I can't stay here. Must go back to own land when Soul Edge destroyed. Need to see family again."

"I suppose," Cassandra sighed. She should have known her fantasies would be too good to be true. "Anyway, so what about Amy?"

"She'll need someone when I gone. She has trouble trusting people and you only person who could help her."

"Yeah, but what about Talim or Taki."

"Taki not good with children. Talim only child, and Amy doesn't like her. Don't know Mi-na well enough."

"I suppose you're right. Wait, what do you want me to do?"

"Help take care of her until we find someone who can. After I leave and can't find a person, then take care of her by yourself."

"Wait a minute; you want me to become a mom?" Cassandra threw her arms up. "I'm not ready for that kind of responsibility."

"Most girls your age moms." Link reminded.

"Yeah, but they're at least married first."

"Cassandra, please." Link begged. "For me?"

Cassandra couldn't help but sigh. She glanced towards the direction of camp, thinking about the lonely girl.

"Fine Link, I'll help you take care of Amy, but it's not only for you, got it."

"Right. Thank you, Cassandra. Let's head back."

When Cassandra and Link returned, they were greeted by a cranky Yun-Seong and worried Amy.

"Boy, it took you two long enough." Yun-Seong complained. "What were two doing this whole time?"

"We were talking about important adult matters, things you'll never understand." Cassandra informed the teenager.

"What, why you…" Yun-Seong growled, reaching for his weapon, only to be smacked by Mi-na on the top of the head.

"Really, Yun-Seong. Control yourself." The Korean woman ordered.

Yun-Seong muttered something under his breath as he went to make camp.

Once night fell, everyone prepared for bed. Link tucked Amy in. Cassandra sat next to the girl, leaning against a tree as she slept. Yun-Seong slept with several bumps on his head. He had already tried to challenge Link to a fight, only to lose horribly. Talim and Mi-na lay next to each and chatted before going to bed, a ritual they performed every night. Link and Taki were the last to go to bed since Taki had offered to take the first watch and she needed to talk to Link.

"So tell me Link, who is that girl." Taki questioned, indicating Amy.

"I told you." Link reminded.

"I don't mean that." Taki responded. "I mean what is she? Where did she come from?"

"Don't know. I saw her when I first got here, but she ran from me. She followed us during journey, attracted to my ocarina or because I saved her."

"So you don't know her past?" Taki questioned.

"No." Link responded.

"Link, look at her eyes. People from our world don't have red eyes." Taki informed.

"What?" Link asked, surprised. In Hyrule, Sheikah had red eyes, so it was something he had grown accustomed to and didn't even notice.

"Not to mention her skin is as pale as a ghost's. Link, I don't think she's human. I sense the same evil as I sense in Soul Edge…."

"I know." Link interrupted before Taki could continue.

"What? Then why have you let her stay with you this whole time? She could be a threat to us."

"She no harm to us." Link argued.

"She doesn't act like a normal girl, Link. If we let our guard down, she could kill one of us."

"She not evil." Link argued. "Only scared and lonely. Was hurt in past."

"How do you know we can trust her?"

"If she wanted to kill me and take Soul Edge, she had many times to. She could have killed me in my sleep or when injured, but she no kill…no steal."

"So even though she's not human and has a similar energy to Soul Edge, you trust her?"

"I not human." Link reminded, leaning against a tree, ready to fall asleep. He had had enough of this conversation. It did worry Link that Amy had such a strange energy about her, but he couldn't see the girl being evil. Then again, Link's greatest downfall was that he was too trusting sometimes.

"I see I won't be able to convince you otherwise. So be it. I have one more question for you. What do you make of this?" Taki pulled out the mask that was the remains of the Daemon that she and the others had slain. Link gasped when he saw it.

"Mask contain evil power."

"Yeah, I know." Taki admitted. "I put sealing spells on it every night, but I don't know if they will hold or not. Do you know what this mask is?"

"Little. Only legend in Majora's Mask legend."

"Majora's Mask?" Taki asked.

"Yes. Daemon god in mask. Major's Mask powerful and dangerous. Majora has four servants. They mask daemons. This is one. They powerful and dangerous, but Majora more powerful and dangerous."

"I see." Taki mused. "I was worried about that. So do you think the Majora's Mask has come to this world searching for Soul Edge or Soul Calibur?"

"Possibly. Don't know. Majora only legend." Link took the Mask from Taki and stored it in his magic bag. "Mask only dangerous if someone wears it. I keep mask to be safe."

"Agreed." Taki agreed. "Just be careful. You seem to be carrying around a lot of dangerous items lately, Link."

Link merely gave Taki an innocent smile that looked like it came from a mischievous ten year old. "Don't worry, I be fine. Thank you for worry. Good night Taki"

Link lay down to get some sleep. As Link began to drift off, Taki sat by the fire, thinking. She was by no means a trusting person. She had to watch out for Cassandra, Talim, and the others, but now she also had to keep an eye on this girl. Despite Link's trust of her, Taki wasn't sure yet. Then again, how could Taki be trusting? She was forced to kill her own adopted father in a duel and, due to her errors; the last of this world's daemon still roamed the earth when she should have killed it when she had a chance. To make matters worse, she had been foolish enough to infuse one of her own weapons with a shard of Soul Edge.

Taki heard a strange noise and her instincts immediately had her ready for action, knife posed to kill. The ninja then discovered that the noise she heard was Link tossing and turning in his sleep, mumbling things in his own language.


	21. Chapter 20 The Warrior Princess

Ch. 20 The Warrior Princess

Sheik and his group continued their travels to Athens. They were tired from their constant traveling, but none of them were willing to stop and rest.

"Boat sunk, we're practically broke, and now we have to walk five hundred miles to Greece." Maxi growled.

"Well, just think of all the girls that you'll be able to get with your new, more muscular body." Xianghua teased. "Look, here comes one now!"

Maxi turned his head as he saw a young woman ride past on a galloping horse without even slowing down.

"Run!" She told the travelers as she zoomed by.

'_Was that who I think it was?' _Siegfried asked himself.

"What was that about?" Kilik asked his companions.

"I have no idea." Xianghua responded.

Sheik turned in the direction the woman had come from and prepared for battle.

"What's wrong?" Siegfried asked.

"Just some bandits, we can take care of them easily." Sheik assured.

The rest of the group turned and drew their weapons as a group of bandits rode towards them. The bandits ignored the group as they rode past after the woman.

"They didn't even say hello!" Kilik joked.

"They are after that woman." Siegfried announced. "We have to help her."

The group chased after the bandits, who had cornered the young woman. Now that she stopped, everyone could get a better look at her. The woman looked just like the Greek female warriors of legend. She had long blond hair and large green eyes. She was dressed in a short white skirt with lightweight armor made of strong leather and metal over her chest. Her metal shoulder pads were separated from her armor, and her boots were also made from a combination of metal and leather. In place of gauntlets, the woman wore metal bracelets and on top of her head was a tiara. She reminded everyone of a warrior princess.

The young warrior was off her horse and trying to reason with the bandits.

"Please leave me be." The woman requested. "I'm simply traveling for my little sister and don't wish to fight."

"Hear that, boys? She even has a sister. Think she's as lovely as this one?" One of the men chuckled.

"If she is, we'd be glad to help find her." Another one of the bandits laughed.

"Thank you, but I would prefer to travel alone." The woman declined, trying to look for an opening to escape.

"Sorry, beautiful. That wasn't a request." The first bandits warned.

As the bandit reached out to grab the woman, she grabbed his wrist and twisted it, causing him to fall to his knees and yelp in pain.

"I don't want to hurt you." The woman informed.

"Sorry, girly, but you're outnumbered. Get her!" The bandit yelled.

Several of the bandits charged towards the woman as she prepared for battle. One of the bandits attacked her with a spear, but the woman stepped to the side and caught the spear with her arm and thrust the end into his stomach.

The woman continued to defeat one bandit after another, even though she seemed to be just knocking them out instead of killing them. She blocked two attacks with the spear, tripping one of the men and hitting the other in the head. She then struck a man who had tried to sneak up on her in the stomach. She threw her spear, tripping another man as she jumped and performed a back flip in the air. The woman landed on a man's shoulder and knocked him unconscious by chopping him in the neck. She then jumped off that man and drew her weapons: a small, round blue shield with a strange design and a short sword.

The woman continued to fend off the men with her weapons. She knocked one man unconscious with her shield and turned to face two more.

"Wow, look at her go." Xianghua cheered as Siegfried and the others arrived, watching the woman take down bandit after bandit.

"Does she really need our help?" Maxi asked.

"Sophitia." Siegfried whispered to himself.

Sheik turned his head, hearing Siegfried say the name.

One of the bandits charged towards the young woman, and his pocket began to slowly glow a dark red. This caused the woman to stumble backwards as if she had just been struck by something and hold her chest in pain.

"O.K, now she needs our help." Maxi announced.

Siegfried hadn't waited for the pirate's word; he had already stepped in to fight alongside the woman. He blocked a blow from a bandit who as about to take advantage of the woman's weakened state and killed him with Soul Calibur.

"Well we can't let him have all the fun now, can we?" Maxi asked.

Maxi, followed by Kilik and Xianghua, attacked the bandits. Even though the bandits were great in number, they didn't stand a chance against the well-trained warriors. Maxi elbowed a bandit in the head, kicked a second in the stomach, and tripped a third with his nunchaku. Kilik used his bow staff to knock out about three more bandits.

"How about we go for a spin?" Xianghua challenged one of the bandits, twirling her blade in a circle as she slashed at him. She then blocked an attack with her sword and defeated another bandit.

Sheik watched as the warriors finished off the bandits. He had decided that if they couldn't handle this group without his help, than there was no chance they would ever stand a chance against Soul Edge or Majora's Mask.

"Well, that was a nice warm up." Maxi announced, dusting off his hands.

"Are you O.K.?" Siegfried asked the woman.

As the knight approached the female warrior, his blade released a blue aura, soothing her pain from the bandit's red light.

"Yes, thank you, Sir. Knight." The woman spoke now, no longer feeling the pain. "But could you please destroy that shard with your holy weapon?"

Xianghua, who could see the red glow still coming from the bandit's pocket, knew what the blond-haired woman meant. The Chinese warrior took the shard out of the man's pocket, threw it to the ground, and brought her Magic Sword down upon it. Even though the Magic Sword wasn't as powerful of a spirit sword as Soul Calibur, it was still powerful enough to destroy shards of Soul Edge. When Xianghua's blade struck the shard of Soul Edge, sparks shot out of the two opposing forces, causing Xianghua to stumble backwards. In the end, the shard became nothing but dirt and dust.

"Thank you for your assistance, strangers." The woman smiled. "My name is Sophitia, and I would like to thank you further, but I have an important mission to attend to. Farewell." The woman mounted her white horse and was about to gallop away, when Siegfried stopped her.

"Sophitia, wait." Siegfried called.

"What is it, Sir. Knight?" The Sophitia asked.

"Do you not recognize me?"

"You look familiar, but I can't quite place my finger on your name."

"It's me. Siegfried. We fought together about six years ago in the war between Holy Roman Empire and the Ottoman Empire."

"Siegfried?" Sophitia gasped. "It's been so long. How are you?"

"I could be better, but then again, I suppose I'm better than what I have been." Siegfried admitted. "Why are you so far away from Athens?"

"I'm looking for my sister, Cassandra. She ran off one night with a shard of Soul Edge and the holy weapons of Hephaestus. I need to find her and bring her home before she gets herself killed."

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Siegfried asked, already feeling the blame for Cassandra's actions. He knew it was probably him as Nightmare that had arranged for a shard of Soul Edge to appear in Sophitia's house. Sophitia had been one of Soul Edge's greatest enemies since Cervantes had been its host. As Knightmare he would have seen Sophitia as a threat so giving her a shard of Soul Edge would have been an attempt to get of her.

There was no doubt in Sheik's mind that any problem Soul Edge caused, Siegfried would blame himself. It was also clear that this woman somehow knew about Soul Edge and was greatly affected by the blade.

"Unfortunately, we can't." Sheik reminded. "We have to destroy Soul Edge and the wind says…" Sheik stopped as the wind suddenly changed directions. "And the wind says that we should help Sophitia by following her."

"No. Please, there is no need for you to interrupt your travels for my sake." Sophitia declined. "I will be perfectly fine."

"We're not interrupting our travels." Siegfried assured. "Sheik has a one-track mind and he wouldn't have us follow you if he didn't think it would benefit us. So, what do you say Sophitia? Will you accept our help, for old time's sake?"

"Yes, I suppose, for old time's sake." Sophitia agreed.

With Sophitia joining the team, Sheik and his group continued to travel. Finally, they made camp that night to rest. Xianghua sat next to Kilik, trying flirt with the clueless monk a little, while Maxi watched and chuckled. Sheik sat at the other side of the fireplace and watched Siegfried and Sophitia. They had ventured a few feet away from the rest of the group and were talking in private. With Sheik's keen ears, he was able to eavesdrop. They were comparing stories and information about Soul Edge.

"So you see." Sophitia began. "I thought once Taki and I defeated Cervantes and the two blades of Soul Edge seven years ago, all of this would end. I retired for the time, and was lucky enough to marry our town's blacksmith. We have lovely twins."

"Wait, you're married?" Siegfried asked in surprised.

"Yes, what's wrong?" Sophitia asked.

"Oh nothing, I'm just really happy to hear that you were finally able to start a family. I know no one believed you when you said you went after Soul Edge. I'm happy you found a man who would accept you despite the fact that you can probably beat him in combat." Siegfried spoke with false happiness in his voice.

"Yes, I was really lucky." Sophitia admitted. "Besides Cassandra, my husband, Rothion, was the only one who believed me and would accept me as a female warrior. But let me explain my quest. About two months ago, my husband had been given a special piece of metal by a customer as payment for his services. As soon as he showed my children that metal, they began to fight as if they were being controlled. If my sister and I had not intervened, they may have killed each other for it. This caused my greatest fears to become reality. That shard was a piece of Soul Edge. I knew that meant the cursed blade had survived. I began to pack and prepared to leave the next morning to destroy the blade, but before I could, my sister sneaked away with my family's holy weapons and the shard of Soul Edge. Since she had taken my family's blade, I had to wait for my husband to forge new weapons. Now that I have weapons again though, I can finally track her down."

"I see." Siegfried responded. "I'm sorry for the trouble that I have caused you, Sophitita."

"What do you mean?" Sophitia asked. "Siegfried, you've had that guilty look on your face ever since I ran into you. Please tell me, what's wrong."

"I'm sorry that I caused this trouble for you." Siegfried repeated. Siegfried looked towards the ground as he spoke. He couldn't face Sophitia while telling his past. "Everything that has occurred after you defeated Cervantes is my fault. Remember several years ago when we fought together and I was the one with Soul Edge? Well, I couldn't control the blade for very long. After the final battle, it wasn't long before the blade had become too powerful for me and it began to warp my mind, turning me into the monster, Nightmare. It was because of me that Soul Edge gained its powers back and has caused this world harm."

"I had a feeling that had happened when the stories of the Azure Knight that held Soul Edge began to be told." Sophitia admitted. She seemed more saddened by the story than surprised.

"Yes, and I wouldn't blame you if you tried to kill me now." Siegfried responded. "I'm pretty sure that half of my allies want me dead right now."

"My killing you would solve nothing. Even though it was partly your fault, Siegfried, you can't let your past sins consume your soul. What you need to do is make up for them."

"I know."

"How did you break free of the blade's curse?"

Siegfried explained to Sophitia how Xianghua and Kilik battled Nightmare, and how Xianghua beat the daemon within the blade, Inferno, using the holy blade Soul Calibur. He explained how the blade continued to take over his body and mind until Sheik had saved him from Soul Edge once and for all.

"So, how did you get Soul Calibur?" Sophitia asked.

"I don't know." Siegfried responded. "I don't remember much. During the battle with Soul Edge, Soul Calibur, and I were trapped in some sort of void. I don't know how we escaped, but when we did, I had both a weakened Soul Edge and a powerless Soul Calibur. I'm guessing that the two blades' energies canceled out each other's power."

"That's an interesting story. Come, let's sit by the rest of the group."

"Boy, those two sure are friendly with each other." Maxi grunted to Xianghua and Kilik as he observed the pair talking.

"What's wrong, Maxi? Still looking for a girl?" Xianghua teased.

"Sophitia is married." Maxi informed.

"How do you know that?" Xianghua asked. "Is a woman's ring finger the first thing you still look at?" Xianghua teased, putting her arm around her friend.

"How do you know that, and what do you mean 'still look at'?" Maxi questioned. It was true, but he didn't remember telling Xianghua or Kilik that.

"Oh, I was just joking." Xianghua quickly jumped up. She knew she had slipped. She and Kilik had agreed not to bring up their past relationships with the pirate or talk as if they already knew him.

"All right everyone, get some sleep." Sheik ordered. "We have some backtracking to do and I'm sure none of us wants to waste time." Sheik continued to monitor the sky. He still sensed evil, but it wasn't coming towards them. They were heading towards it.

"What's wrong?" Siegfried asks the Sheik.

"We are being led to an evil force." Sheik responded.

"Is it Soul Edge?" Siegfried asked the mysterious figure.

"I don't know. We are too far away. I just have a feeling."

"Well, if it is a shard of Soul Edge, let's hope we reach it before Soul Edge and Majora's Mask do." Siegfried added.

"Agreed."

The group continued their travels for the next few days. Everyone worried about the towns they approached. It seemed the further they traveled, the slummier the towns became. The first town was a normal town with some rich, but most of the residents were peasants. The second town seemed to be worn down compared to the first. The group wondered where the rulers were to help the townspeople. Then they approached the worst town. It was completely void of life from a recent battle. Weapons littered the streets and many of the people had arrows in their bodies.

"You don't suppose Soul Edge has been here?" Xianghua asked.

"No. Soul Edge was not here, nor Majora's Mask. However, I do sense we are approaching a fragment of Soul Edge."

"What could have done this?" Kilik asked.

"A warlord." Sophitia responded. "I don't know what your nation is like, but Greece used to be infested with them. Many of them still strive today in various countries. I use to run into them during my travels and was usually forced to kill them."

"Are they all like this?" Xianghua asked. She wasn't accustomed to this kind of war or destruction. Most battles took prisoners. This was pure destruction, something Soul Edge would do. It scared her that an ordinary human could be so cruel.

"They're not all this bad." Sophitia continued. "Most of them will at least take prisoners if you're willing to surrender. From the looks of this village, it was hit by one of the worst."

"Bastards!" Siegfried growled. "How can people just throw other's lives away? There was no need for this. Look at this town. It was full of farmers and simple merchants, not warriors."

Like Sophitia, Siegfried knew about warlords and what they were capable of. It enraged him.

"I know this angers you, Siegfried." Sheik responded. "But you can't let your anger get the best of you. We have to continue our journey. But I do agree that if we come across the person responsible for this, they shall pay."

"Agreed. Siegfried responded.

********

A lone man dressed completely in red leather with a matching red cape stood looking out the window of a large and luxurious room. The room was made entirely of marble and was supported with marble pillars. Towards the ceiling of the room were several glass-stained windows. Several portraits of the man decorated the walls. In the back center of the room was a large throne decorated in red and gold. Two guards dressed from head to toe in armor stood at the doors of the room, ensuring no one could enter.

The man was an average looking man, entering his twenties. He had thick, light brown hair that touched his cheeks and curled slightly inward at the ends. One top of his head as a golden crown, indicating that he was some sort of royalty.

The man looked down at the city. It was his city and the capital of his country. Few cities were more secure than this one. Even though the city was small, walls surrounded it, protecting it from invaders, and guards were constantly on patrol.

"King Strife, I have news." An elderly general walked in to speak to the king.

"What is it?" The King asked.

"The town not paying their dues has been dealt with. We made quite an example of that town. No longer will the peasants dare defy you again."

"Good." The king replied. "I would have expected nothing less."

"There is other news, your highness. Bad news."

"What is it?" The King asked in an annoyed and deadly tone.

The general seemed to take a few steps back when the king spoke in this way. "As you know, Princess Hilde is raising an army to defeat Soul Edge."

"Please, do you really think I am worried about that pathetic little girl? I will crush her and her nation like the insects that they are!"

"Of course, your highness." The general stuttered. "We all know there is no one mightier than you in battle. I just wanted to know what you wanted us to do about Hilde."

"If she comes to this country, destroy her army and bring her to me. Now, unless you have any other news for me, leave."

"Yes, your highness." The general bowed as he left while he still had the chance.

"What bothers you, my lord?"A black-hooded figure walked towards the King. No one knew anything about this figure except he had become the King's sorcerer a couple months ago. Not even the king had seen his face. All that anyone ever saw were two glowing red eyes.

"Is that you, Shadow?" King Strife asked.

"Of course, your majesty. Who else would it be?" The black robed figure asked.

"Yes, of course. Nothing of great concern bothers me. I am merely thinking of the many days I go to bed alone."

"So your majesty, it is a queen you are looking for?" The sorcerer asked. "If that is a problem, we can easily find you a fair maiden."

"I have no interest in marrying some pathetic noble. I want someone worthy of my power, someone beautiful, strong, and young, someone who will be able to give me the heir I need."

"Of course, your highness. I think I have a good person in mind for you."

A crystal ball appeared in the sorcerer's hand. He showed the king the image in the crystal ball; a beautiful woman with long blond hair and green eyes.

*********

"Where are we now?" Maxi asked as they approached a city that was built more like a fort than a city.

"Grandall." Sophitia explained. "And this looks like its capitol."

"Very interesting." Sheik retorted.

An arrow flew towards the travelers and landed an inch away. Maxi, Kilik, and Xianghua drew their weapons and prepared for battle.

"It's a warning shot." Sheik explained. "Quickly, drop your weapons and put your hands up."

Everyone mimicked Sheik, putting their hands in the air as several armored soldiers approached from the woods holding cross bows or swords.

"What do we have here?" One of the soldiers asked.

"They look like foreigners." Another one spoke.

One of the soldiers seemed to eye Sophitia for a few moments. The Greek woman merely returned the gaze coolly and calmly, figuring that he saw her as easy entertainment. If that was true, he was about to have another thing coming.

"We should bring them to his highness." The soldier announced. "He can decide what to do with them?"

"His highness?" Another soldier asked surprised.

"Yes." The soldier answered. "Trust me. I smell a reward."

"Do we try to fight and run?" Siegfried whispered to Sheik.

"No, just do as they say. A fragment of Soul Edge is near. Let's play their game and find the shard." Sheik suggested.

The guards led Siegfried and the others through the gates and across the town to a large castle. The city seemed to be in better quality than most of the towns the group had passed. It still had its share of poverty, but at least everyone seemed safe and relatively happy. However, Sheik could sense the fear in every citizen that the guards passed.

"Open the gates." One of the soldiers told a castle guard. "We have brought important guests."

"Yes sir." The guard replied, opening the doors.

*******

"Your highness." One of King Strife's men quickly ran in to the throne room.

"Yes?" The king asked in his usual annoyed voice.

"We found her, sir." The guard announced.

"You have?" Strife asked, now more interested and surprised.

"Yes sir."

"Well, bring her in." The king ordered.

"She has company with her."

"Then bring them too. We can't seem rude now, can we?"

Sophitia and her companions were led to the king.

"Welcome to my humble country." Strife greeted everyone warmly. "My name is King Strife. Tell me travelers, what brings you to my city?"

"We are on a journey to destroy great evil." Sheik spoke. He wanted to be the one talking since he knew exactly what to say without revealing any unnecessary information.

"I see. Then it appears we have a common goal."

"What do you mean?" Sophitia asked.

"Have you ever heard of Princess Hilde?" Strife asked.

Everyone but Siegfried shook their heads no.

"I have." Siegfried admitted.

"Well, she is a wretched witch of a ruler who is trying to seek out Soul Edge and use its powers to take over the world."

"What? That can't be!" Siegfried began to argue, but Sheik silenced him with a glance.

"Oh, but I'm afraid it is. I'm sure you've seen the destruction of our smaller towns. That is the cause of her army. They destroy everything in their path. I am trying to fight her right now, but I'm afraid that even my resources will not suffice for ever."

"That's horrible." Sophitia spoke.

"Yes, it is horrible. But enough of this unpleasantness. Tell me; what are your names, travelers?"

"I am Sheik." The mysterious figure began. "This is Kilik, Maxi, Xianghua, Sophitia, and Siegfried."

"Siegfried, you mean the legendary dragon killer?" Strife gasped. This was one person he hadn't expected.

"Yes, that is one title I'm known for." Siegfried responded, looking towards the ground as he spoke.

"Why, I would have never expected to meet someone as great as you, Sir Siegfried." King Strife spoke. "Your great tales have ventured even as far as my kingdom. You did the world a great favor when you killed that monster."

Sheik glanced at Siegfried after hearing this statement. This wasn't something Siegfried had included in his stories of Soul Edge.

"I ensure you, that I did not do it by myself." Siegfried spoke. "Each time I fought the monster, I had an ally to assist me. In fact, Sophitia here faced and fended the beast off as well."

"You fought the dragon?" Strife asked Sophitia in amazement.

"Once yes, but Siegfried gives me too much credit and himself not enough." The Greek warrior admitted. "It was Siegfried who finished the monster, and he fended it off more times than any of us."

"Both of you are too modest." Strife praised. "I welcome you both in my land and will provide you with food and shelter for as long as you and your companions need."

"Thank you, but we would hate to bother you." Sheik cut in. "I'm sure you are very busy with this war. We can easily find a hotel for the night so that you don't have to worry about us."

"Oh, don't feel you are a burden." Strife assured. "It is an honor to have the hero, Siegfried, stay with us. But if finding a hotel would make the ladies feel more comfortable, there is a fine one nearby. Give this symbol." Strife rose from his chair and handed a medallion to Sophitia. "With this, they will know I sent you and will give you nothing but the finest."

"Thank you, my lord." Sophitia thanked the king.

"You don't have to use such formalities with me, my lady. I really do hate them. Now, my guards will show you out. I wish you all safe travels."

As the guards began to escort the travelers out, Strife stopped them, forgetting one last detail.

"Oh, and I would greatly be honored if you would all join me for dinner tonight."

"Thank you, highness." Sheik spoke. "Please tell us the time and would be happy to join you."

"We will eat at sundown." Strife explained. "I will have one of my men escort you to the castle at seventeen hundred hours. I look forward to our next meeting."

"As do we." Sheik replied as he and his companions walked out.

After everyone left, King Strife turned and spoke to a dark corner in his room. "Is she the one?"

"She is the one that I told you about. Tell me, what do you think of her, your highness?" Shadow asked as he walked out of the corner.

"She is perfect." Strife complimented. "Beautiful and strong, yet seems to know her place."

"I am pleased you approve. There are a couple of problems though."

"Siegfried, I know. I did not expect the dragon killer to be with her, nor did I expect her to have so many companions. Of course, the dragon slayer is the one I'm most worried about."

"He is not the only problem, my lord. That one who hid his face, Sheik, seemed to know my presence. I saw him glance my way several times. Also, my information tells me that Sophitia has a husband and two children."

"That is a problem that can easily be remedied." Strife commented. "Siegfried and Sheik, on the other hand, may have to be dealt with."

"Don't worry, my lord. I am already devising a plan."

***********

King Strife had not been exaggerating when he informed Sophitia that the medallion the king provided would benefit them. The inn keeper immediately became as polite as possible and even offered the best rooms in the inn for free. Sophitia declined; She accepted smaller rooms and paid for a portion of the cost with her money. The group received three rooms in all. Sophitia and Xianghua shared one since they were female. Sheik offered to room with Siegfried. He wished to discuss this King Strife with him, and he also didn't trust Maxi with Siegfried.

"I don't trust that king." Siegfried informed Sheik, as the mysterious figure sat on a bed in a meditative pose.

"I could tell as soon as he mentioned Hilde's name. Why do you think I spoke for our group? Who is Hilde, and what is this dragon story? You should know by now that I can't help you if you don't tell me what you know."

"Sorry." Siegfried apologized. "Killing the dragon was one of the few good deeds I did with Soul Edge. I don't mention it because it's no comparison to the evil I have done with that sword. As for Hilde, she is a princess who is trying to raise an army to destroy Soul Edge. I met her once along my travels. Her group had run into a horde of Lizardman and had needed help. When I introduced myself, she was nothing but polite and noble towards me. That was how I knew King Strife was lying. Princess Hilde tried to convince me to join her on her quest to destroy Soul Edge. I would have, but I still fell under Soul Edge's influence during night, so I declined. She unwillingly accepted my decline and left with her army. I do wonder if she suspected something, but if she did, she never said a word."

"Why didn't you tell her about Soul Edge at the time?"

"At that time, I was foolish and believed I would be able to destroy Soul Edge without help. I believed it was my battle and no one else's. Besides, I was a coward and feared that she would attack me if she knew the truth."

"I see. However, you are correct about King Strife. I see nothing but deceit and a hunger for power in his eyes."

"Then why is he being so nice?" Siegfried asked.

"He wants something." Sheik answered. "I don't know what, but my guess is it probably has something to do with you killing someone for him. Someone that only with your strength could kill."

"If he thinks I'm going after Princess Hilde, then…"

"I don't know what he thinks." Sheik admitted. "We just need to stay alert. Keep an eye on him. Right now, we're alive because he needs us. Once he doesn't…"

"I know. We're dead." Siegfried interrupted. "I've dealt with people like him before."

"We will play his game for now." Sheik instructed. "Do as he asks and remain as polite as possible. He can't know we're on to him."

"Of course. Do you think we should tell the others? Although, I doubt any of them would believe us."

"I don't know. Maxi probably wouldn't believe us. I'm not sure about Kilik or Xianghua. Sophitia may simply due to your history with her. However, keep in mind that Kilik, Xianghua, and Maxi are impulsive. They may do something foolish and ruin our plans. If you do tell them, it should be after dinner so that they won't slip in front of King Strife tonight."

"Agreed." Siegfried nodded.

************

King Strife stood in one of his private chambers, waiting for his men to arrive. Like all of his chambers, the room was lit only by a few lanterns and a fire place.

"You summoned us, your highness?" One of Strife's captains asked.

"Yes I did." Strife admitted. "I have a job for you all."

"What is it sir?"

"In Greece, there is a town called Athens. I want you to find a family there. It will consist of a father and two young children. The father's name is Rothion, the husband of Lady Sophitia. You are to arrive at this house, dressed as Princess Hilde's men, and murder the husband and children. If anyone tries to stop you, take care of them. I also want this to appear as a massacre, so when you are done with the family, kill as many people as you wish and burn their houses."

"What?" One of the captains gasped. King Strife was a tyrant. Everyone knew that. However this was insane. "Your highness, this is a joke, right?"

"Do I make jokes?" Strife asked in a deadly tone.

"I refuse!" One of the captains yelled. "To attack an enemy city is one thing, but Greece hasn't declared war on us. I will not kill innocent children."

Strife drew his blade. It was a sword as large as he was tall. No one knew how the king had the strength to lift the blade, let alone wield it with his level of skill. Strife turned to the captain who had spoken and killed him with a single swipe.

"Anyone else have an objection?" Strife asked.

Not a single one of the guards responded to his question.

"That's better." Strife smirked. "Now, if you'd excuse me, I have to get ready for our guests. Remember, I'm one of the nicest and benevolent rulers around."

As Strife and his men left, it was unknown to them that a figure was still in the room, hanging from the ceiling and staying in the shadows where no one could see or hear him. The man spying on Strife was no other than Yushimitsu. "I'm willing to bet that her highness will want to hear about this."

**Hey readers, this concludes this chapter. When I had to do research about Norse Mythology for a college class, I discovered that Siegfreid was a legendary hero who killed the dragon Fafnir. On Soul Calibur Wiki, I discovered that the name of the dragon Siegfreid fights is actually Fafnir. That's where I got the idea of Siegfreid being known as the legendary dragon slayer. Strife will be Siegfreid's main enemy for a few chapters now. I try to use as few O.C. as possible, so finding a good villian for this chapter was very difficult. I wanted a villian that was a fairly large antagonist in the series and had something to do with Seigfreid. I discovered that in Soul Calibur III, Strife is actually the main protagonist in one of the modes and his destiny battle is actually Siegfried. Because of these two factors, I felt he made the perfect villian for right now. Sorry for the long authors note and that such a long chapter doesn't have Link in it. The next chapter will once again feature our favorite Hylian hero. **


	22. Chapter 21 Enemies or Allies

Ch. 21 Enemies or Allies

"We'll be approaching a town soon." Taki informed. "Does anyone wish to stop for supplies? If not, we should continue on as normal."

"I wouldn't mind stopping in town." Cassandra announced. "It would be nice to see some civilization for a change. Hey Amy, do you want to come?"

Amy looked up to Cassandra and then looked towards the ground, which was an indication that she was thinking of how to answer

"You should go." Link suggested.

"Umm, O.K." Amy replied as the girl followed Cassandra into town.

**********

"So, they are heading towards town." Raphael spoke as he watched Amy and Cassandra. "This will be a perfect time to attack the rest."

Ever since Amy joined Link and his group, Raphael ceased his plans to kill them, fearing his daughter would be caught in the crossfire. Now, with her safe in town, he could execute his plan and then follow her to ensure her safety.

*********

As Taki and Link watched Cassandra and Amy walked into town, both of the well-trained warriors tensed. They drew their weapons and looked around.

"What's wrong?" Talim asked.

"I don't know why, but I feel we are being watched." Taki informed.

"Me too." Link added.

"Link, can you stay here with the others?" Taki asked. "I'm going to catch up with Cassandra and Amy to make sure they're safe."

"Agreed." Link nodded.

*********

Cassandra walked around the market, looking at more than just supplies. Even though she was mostly a tomboy, she liked to shop and had hoped that bringing Amy with her would cheer the girl's normally depressed attitude. However, everything Cassandra tried didn't seem to have an effect on the girl. The only thing Amy seemed to enjoy was fencing, playing Link's ocarina, riding Link's horse, and occasionally playing with Link's masks.

"How about this dress?" Cassandra asked Amy as she pulled a dress from a stand and showed it to the girl. "I bet it would look really cute on you."

"It's O.K." Amy responded, sitting on a fountain with her head resting on her knees. She had barely budged from that location since they had arrived.

"You really don't like this kind of stuff, do you?" Cassandra asked.

"Not really." Amy admitted.

"Well, how about this? Give me just a few minutes to pick up some food for the journey and then we can head back and practice our sword skills or something else you think is fun." Cassandra offered.

"Sure, that would be O.K…I guess." Amy answered.

"Great. Let's go then."

Cassandra took Amy by the hand and began to lead her through the market. Cassandra didn't know her way around though, and the two soon found themselves in a rundown neighborhood where the streets and buildings were old and ruined and many people lived outdoors.

"Oops, I think we took a wrong turn." Cassandra spoke. "Let's turn around."

As soon as Cassandra turned around, she heard a voice mock her.

"Well, well, well, who do we have here?" A man asked. He stepped out of a building with three of his friends. All of them held swords or clubs and had perverted grins on their faces. "You must be a little lost. How about my friends and I help you find your way home?"

"No thanks." Cassandra responded, reaching for her sword and shield. "We can find our own way, thank you."

"Oh, but my pretty, that wasn't a request." Cassandra heard another man speak behind her.

The Athenian woman turned around to see three more men blocking the way out.

"You know." One of the men spoke. "It's not safe in this neighborhood. Two lovely girls like you, you never know what could happen."

"Yeah, you never know what could happen." Another one of the men chuckled.

"So here's deal. You can come quietly or we'll just have to use force."

"Well, how about I make you guys a deal?" Cassandra challenged, holding her weapons, ready for battle. "You can go home to your mommy and tell her what nice men you've been today, or I can you send to her covered with bruises and crying."

"Oh, looks like we got a rough one, boys." One of the men laughed. "Get 'em!"

All seven of the men dove at Cassandra and Amy at once.

"Amy, get back!" Cassandra ordered, pushing the girl into a corner. She jumped away from the men and stood between them and Amy.

"Looks like you pigs chose wrong." Cassandra growled.

One of the men drew their sword and slashed at Cassandra, who blocked the attack with her shield and stabbed him in the chest. She spun around and slashed another man who tried to sneak up on her. A third man jumped on Cassandra and put his arm around her neck in a choke lock, but the woman threw him off.

One of men managed attack Amy. Amy drew her rapier and blocked the man, who was slicing at her with his blade. Another man had been able to sneak up and grabbed her, restraining her arms and picking her off of the ground.

"Amy!" Cassandra yelled.

During her distraction, two men were able to grab Cassandra and restrain the Athenian woman.

"Now you're going to get it." One of the men held a club growled at her as he walked up to the restrained Cassandra.

"You, sir, are nothing but a pig." A man with a French accent spoke. He stabbed the man who restrained Amy and freed the girl.

********

Link and the others sat outside the city, waiting patiently for Taki to return with the two girls. Mi-na was having fun defeating Yun-Seong in sparring while Talim gave Link his speaking lesson.

"Link, I want you to explain how to travel to the last town you visited." Talim instructed.

"You travel about five days north of here until you reach a forest. Go through the forest, heading west, and then go northwest when you reach a very large hill."

"Very good." Talim clapped. "Now tell Yun-Seong what he's doing wrong against Mi-na."

"What? I don't need advice from that stupid elf."

Mi-na tripped Yun-Seong with her weapon and pointed it towards his throat.

"I'd say you do." The Korean woman argued.

Talim giggled, but suddenly stopped laughing as a breeze blew through her hair. Her face suddenly became serious and she drew her weapons. Link, who also sensed the danger, drew his weapons as well.

"What's wrong?" Mi-na asked.

"There's a fight coming." Link informed.

Several assassins, dressed similar to the ones that had attacked Link, Talim, Cassandra, and Taki before, jumped out of the shadows. They were led by what appeared to be a skeleton dressed in nobleman's clothing and carrying two jagged knives. The assassins shot a barrage of darts towards Link and the others. Link deflected most of them and the others were able to dodge.

"Yun-Seong, watch out!" Mi-na cried as she pushed Yun-Seong out of the way of a dart, but was in exchange hit by one of them.

Mi-na's face paled as the dart had hit her in the neck and was poisoned.

"Yun-Seong, be careful, they're poisonous." The Korean woman warned as she collapsed.

"Mi-na!" Yun-Seong cried down at his unconscious friend. "You bastards!"

Yun-Seong yelled and charged towards the assassin who had shot Mi-na. The assassin shot a dart at the angry young warrior, but Yun-Seong blocked the dart with his sword and killed the assassin.

Link blocked dart after dart while trying to fend off the assassins, but he knew there were too many for him to fight.

********

Cassandra was able to get loose from her captors by stomping on his foot. The man yelped in pain and released her as he reached down to hold their foot. Cassandra elbowed the other man in the stomach, causing him to wince in pain. Once she was free, the female warrior grabbed the other two men and smacked their heads together, knocking them unconscious. While Cassandra dealt with her two attackers, the nobleman killed the remaining men with his rapier.

"It appears I arrived just in time." The Frenchman announced.

Cassandra looked at the Frenchmen for a second. His features, with the exception of his hair color, were almost identical to Amy's. He had blond hair, sickly looking pale skin, and red eyes. Even though he was sort of handsome, he gave Cassandra the shivers.

"Papa!" Amy cried, running to the man and hugging him.

"Amy, you don't know how happy I am to finally have found you." The man spoke, putting his arms around his daughter. "I've looked everywhere for you. When I heard our house was…"

"Excuse me, but who are you?" Cassandra asked.

"Oh, me?" The nobleman asked. "Raphael Sorel is my name, miss. You know, when you ask for a name, it is polite to provide your name first."

"My name's Cassandra." The blond swordswoman informed. "So, you're Amy's father?"

"Why yes, I am."

Everyone gasped at Cassandra's response. She quickly punched Raphael in the stomach, knocking the wind out of the nobleman.

"Do you know how worried your daughter has been about you?" Cassandra hollered. "What kind of person leaves their child alone like that?!"

"My dear, please, let me explain!" Raphael gasped for air.

"Why you!" One of the defeated men growled as he and his remaining allies rose to their feet and charged Cassandra.

Before anyone could react, Taki jumped over Cassandra and killed the remaining perverts in moments.

"Where did you come from?" Cassandra gasped, looking at Taki.

"I followed you." Taki informed. "I heard the part about this guy being Amy's father, but I'd like to know how he got here."

"Of course." Raphael assured. "When I returned from my travels, I found my mansion destroyed and my servants dead. Apparently, a white-haired woman had led an attack while I was away, feeling that would be the easiest time to do so. When I returned, I couldn't find Amy's body. After some harsh questioning of the villagers, I discovered she had escaped the mob's wrath. I naturally searched for her, following any lead I could. When I heard there were two strange travelers in these parts, one of them being a girl who never spoke, I knew I had found my Amy and that someone was protecting her. I'm assuming that someone was you, Miss Cassandra." The nobleman bowed and kissed Cassandra on the front of her hand. "I am eternally grateful that you protected my daughter all this time."

"Oh, I haven't been protecting her." Cassandra blushed slightly from his kiss on her hand. Where she came from, no man had ever treated her so noble. "Our friend Link is the one who protected her. Oh, and sorry about the punch. I have a tendency to lose my temper."

"Oh no, I assure you it is fine. You bring up valid points, my beautiful warrior." Raphael placed a hand on Amy's shoulder. "But don't worry; I don't plan to leave my dear daughter for a long time now."

Raphael faced Cassandra, still beaming. "Now, where is this Link fellow of yours? I would love to meet him face to face and thank him personally for all he has done."

"I can show you." Amy offered.

"Amy, wait." Taki advised.

"Don't worry. My papa won't judge on appearances." The girl informed.

"Well, I suppose we should get back to the others." Taki agreed. "This way."

When Taki and the others arrived, they saw Link, Talim, and Yun-Seong in the middle of battle.

"Amy, hide somewhere safe." Raphael instructed.

"But Papa…"

"Obey your father!" Raphael ordered.

Raphael, Taki, and Cassandra drew their weapons and charged towards the assassins.

The assassins fired several darts at their new targets. Yun-Seong had already been hit by a dart in the shoulder and was considerably weakened.

Several darts shot towards Talim and there was no way the girl would be able to dodge them. Link quickly jumped in front of Talim and blocked the darts with his blade, but one of them managed to pierce his tunic.

"Link, no." Talim cried.

Link fell to one knee and closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, it was clear he was mad as he lunged towards the assassins and killed them.

Taki dodged the darts with masterful skill and slayed two assassins. Raphael also dodged a dart and ran an assassin through with his rapier. Cassandra managed to kill one assassin. Her skill had much improved since her last fight against these men, but one of them had managed to hit her with a dart from behind, causing her to fall to the ground.

"That's it!" The skeleton creature yelled. "Kill them all!"

"Only cowards use poison as a weapon!" Mitsurugi yelled, leaping out of a bush and killing one of the assassins. He then turned and attacked the skeleton creature.

The skeleton creature avoided the attack by jumping into the air and throwing several knives at the samurai. Mitsurugi blocked the knives with his blade and quickly avoided another attack as the skeleton landed and tried to slash at him. The samurai and assassin exchanged blows, but Mitsurugi was the better fighter of the two. He slashed at the skeleton creature, knocking it backwards, and then cut it in half.

Mitsurugi turned to see the remaining assassins had been taken care of by Taki, Link, and Raphael.

"Why are you here, Mitsurugi?" Taki questioned. Her tone was serious and deadly.

"You should be thankful. If I had not arrived, you and your friends would have been killed. Now quickly, let me see the darts they fired."

Taki took a dart from a dead assassin and handed it to Mitsurugi. Personally, she wanted to stab the samurai with it.

"Yes, this is a strange poison in deed." Mitsurugi examined the dart. "It seems to have taken its effects on your comrades quite quickly, with the exception of Link. I wonder why he didn't collapse."

"Give me awhile and I'll have a cure." Taki informed. "This isn't the first time I've had to cure someone who was poisoned."

"That maybe so, but do you know what poison this is?" Mitsurugi asked.

"No." Taki admitted.

"How do you know that you will be able to cure them before the poison takes its effect?"

"Since when do you care?" Taki asked.

"I could care less about the children." Mitsurugi admitted. "But if anyone is going to kill you or Link, it will be me in a fair fight. These cowards tried to outnumber you and then used poison, knowing there was no chance they could win otherwise"

"What do you want us to do?" Taki growled.

"Simple, we pay my past employer a visit. We go to the white haired witch."

"What?" Raphael growled. "If who you described is who I think she is, that's the same person who tried to kill my daughter. Who would be foolish enough to see her?"

"Raphael has a point." Taki growled, drawing her weapon and pointing it towards Mitsurugi. "I trust Ivy less than I can throw her. I highly doubt she would be willing to help us, and even if she did, I wouldn't doubt her trying to kill us while we slept"

"Taki, what choice do we have?" Talim piped up. "I sense honesty in this man's words. If it means helping the others, we should try it."

"I suppose you're right." Taki sighed. "What do you think, Link."

"Let's believe him." Link agreed.

Link picked up Cassandra, who was unconscious from the poison. Taki was about to pick up Yun-Seong when the Korean teen woke up.

"I'm fine." The teenage warrior assured, using most of his strength to pull himself up as he leaned on his sword. "Worry about Mi-na. It's because of me she's hurt."

"Very well." Taki agreed. She walked to the unconscious Korean woman and picked her up. For some reason, it seemed Mi-na had received a larger dose of poison.

"We should just leave them behind." Mitsurugi announced. "They'll only slow us down."

"Either we all leave, or we all stay." Link informed sternly.

"Indeed." Raphael agreed, trying to sound heroic to earn Link's trust.

"Fine," Misturugi growled. "I see you are as stubborn as always, elf. Come on, we shouldn't waste anymore time if we want to find her.

"Wait! Carry Yun-seong." Taki ordered.

"What!" Both the samurai and Korean teen growled.

"Face it, Yun-Seong. You have been poisoned and can barely stand. If we want to go anywhere, I suggest you allow someone to carry you. It makes sense for Mitsurugi to carry you since you are the heaviest and he's the strongest besides Link. Link can't carry you because he's already been weakened." Taki explained.

"No way am I letting that samurai carry me." Yun-Seong argued.

"There are more important things than pride." Raphael informed as he chopped the Korean in the back of the neck to knock him unconscious. The nobleman tossed the boy to the samurai.

"Just be more careful with him than I was." Raphael requested.

"Whatever." Mitsurugi retorted. "Come on. The faster we move the better chance everyone has to survive."

After a couple hours of traveling with Mitsurugi in the lead, Talim suddenly collapsed. She had felt exhausted and couldn't prevent breathing heavily as soon as they began their travels. She did her best to hide it.

"Talim, what wrong?" Link asked. He began to sweat and pant due to the poison sapping him of his strength slowly but steadily.

"Nothing, I'm fine." Talim lied.

Taki knelt down to examine the girl and noticed a mark from a dart on her leg.

"Talim, you were hit in the fight, weren't you?" Taki spoke.

"Why didn't you say something earlier?" Raphael asked.

"I'm sorry everyone. I was worried about slowing you down." The girl apologized.

"Don't worry about it." Raphael assured kindly. "Link, give Cassandra to me. You carry Talim."

"What?" Link asked.

"I know you would normally be much stronger, but right now, you are weakened by poison, which means you should carry the lightest person while I take Cassandra."

"O.K." Link reluctantly agreed, handing Cassandra to Raphael, who scooped the Athenian woman into his arms.

Link picked up Talim.

"I'm sorry, Link." Talim apologized.

"No worries." Link assured the girl with a smile. He seemed unusually calm for someone whose life was in danger. Link would try to keep everyone calm and positive even at the brink of death.

Ivy was enjoying a cup of tea when she heard footsteps outside her home. She quickly grabbed her blade, turning it into the whip. She slashed in the direction of the approaching sounds. Ivy felt her whip connect with something.

"You'll have to do better than that, witch." Mitsurugi commented.

"What are you doing here?" Ivy snarled, not at all pleased to see her former employee.

"Unfortunately, we have come to ask for your help." Taki commented as she walked out of the shadows, holding both Yun-Seong and Mi-na. Link stood next to the ninja, holding a semi-conscience Talim.

"Help you! Why should I help you?" Ivy laughed, preparing the whip to attack. "I have no time to help your little friends. Leave now before I decide to kill you all."

"Fine, then we'll force you." Taki set Mi-na and Yun-Seong down and drew her knife.

Link collapsed to his knees, his face pale and his whole body began to tremble as he felt the poison slowly taking a toll on his body.

"So the elf is ill as well." Ivy observed.

"Would I have wasted time bringing them here if he wasn't?" Mitsurugi asked. "We both know you need the boy for your plans, don't we, Ivy?" Mitsurugi grinned. Ivy knew she was beat. There was no way she could defeat Mitsurugi and Taki together. Besides, Mitsurugi was right. She needed the elf for help.

"Very well." Ivy agreed. "I will heal the elf, but only the elf. The rest can rot, for all I care."

"No." Link argued. "They heal first."

"But Link." Talim argued. "What if we can't heal you in time?"

Link didn't respond. He stared the white-haired woman in the eyes. If she wanted him to stay alive, then she was going to make sure that everyone else lived as well. Besides, his body was stronger than the others, so it could withstand the poison much longer as he had already shown.

"You're being an idiot." Ivy informed. "I doubt you'll be able to survive if you don't get your treatment immediately."

"Cure friends first." Link demanded, unwilling to back down.

Ivy wrapped her fist around her blade, trying to remain calm. She did not like being told what to do. However, if the elf refused her treatment, her plans were gone.

"Very well." The woman agreed. "However, if you die, you can kiss your little friends' lives away."

"I no die." Link assured in a confident voice, despite his disappearing strength.

"Very well, but if I'm going to heal you, I need to have a sample of the poison."

Taki handed her a dart.

"Do not think I am ignorant in the ways of medicine, Ivy." Taki warned. "I have studied much about herbs and poisons. I'll be watching you. If you betray us, I will kill you."

Ivy merely turned her back to the ninja. "Well ninja, I see you haven't changed a bit."

Ivy removed an assortment of test tubes from her cupboards and immediately began to work, using all of her skills in science, alchemy, and witchcraft. Taki and Link watched her carefully. Taki remained suspicious, but Link was more interested. His eyes perked up when he noticed the woman used a book with the symbol of the Triforce on the cover.

"I have to say, this is an extremely rare finding." Ivy spoke. "I've seen this kind of poison used only once before. It's a combination of poison and magic."

"Where have you seen it?" Taki asked.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Ivy chuckled. "Luckily, I know how to make a cure. However, I only have enough materials to make enough for one or two people."

"Can you gather the herbs?" Taki questioned.

"The herbs are in the forest close to here. However, each batch takes about a day to make, and I can't exactly gather herbs if I'm making medicine."

"So you expect me to leave my injured friends alone with you?" Taki laughed.

"Um, excuse me, but we are still here." Raphael informed, leaning against a wall with Amy next to him.

Ivy glanced at Raphael then turned back to Ivy. "You're right. It would be foolish for you to leave."

"If it makes you feel any better, I'll be here." Mitsurugi informed. "And you know I won't kill sick people, Taki."

"True." Taki agreed. "You'll wait until Link is healthy again, and then you'll fight him. Very well. As long as Mitsurugi is here, I will leave." Taki assured.

"Good choice. Here is a list of ingredients." Ivy handed Taki a list and turned back to her work. "Feel free to take your time."

"Link, I'll be back as soon as I can." Taki spoke to the warrior. "If anything happens while I'm away, don't do anything foolish. You're too weak to fight."

Link nodded, although he wasn't sure what could possibly happen with Ivy, Mitsurugi, and Raphael around to protect him.

With Taki gone, Mitsurugi and Raphael continued to watch Ivy and then turned to each other to make sure the other wasn't planning an attack. It was quite clear to Link that neither, Ivy, Mitsurugi, nor Raphael trusted each other.

'Why doesn't Ivy trust Raphael?' Link wondered. He understood why everyone didn't trust Ivy. But Raphael hadn't done anything wrong against them. Sure, he had the same inhuman characteristics as Amy, but that wasn't a good reason to distrust the nobleman, not in Link's eyes anyway.

Link continued to watch Ivy as she brewed her strange potion. She mixed various herbs and liquids together.

"Are you men going to be perverts and stare at me for the next three days?" Ivy questioned. "Really, it gets quite annoying."

"Please." Raphael snorted. "You think way too highly of your looks, madam. I find you quite distasteful to look at, in fact. I merely do so to keep an eye on you. Now if you'd excuse me, I'm going to get some fresh air. Are you coming, Amy?"

"Yes." The girl responded, standing up and walking out with her father.

"And you, samurai?" Ivy asked Mitsurugi.

"Sorry, but I told Taki I would keep an eye on you. I don't like her any more than you do, but a samurai is only as good as his word."

"Whatever." Ivy snorted as she continued to work.

Link watched as Ivy mixed two of the test tubes and set it on the fire. She then drew a star inside a circle on her desk with chalk. She removed the test tube from the fire and placed it in the circle. Lightening shot out of Ivy's hand, causing the circle to emit a strange light until it transformed the potion into a different color.

Link's eyes widened with amazement. He knew about such spells, but he had never seen them used.

"How you do that?" The Hylian asked.

"It's a combination of sorcery and alchemy." Ivy explained. "I found ways in this book I found." Ivy spoke as she briefly held up the book with the Triforce on the cover.

"Oh." Link responded. Link stood and began to walk out of the room.

"Where are you going?" Ivy hollered. "You need to rest!"

"Fresh air." Link answered as he walked out of the room before Ivy could stop him.

"You could have stopped him." Ivy hissed towards Mitsurugi.

"Why? Link's the type of person who's going to do what he wants. You might as well not try to stop him."

"Whatever." Ivy snapped. "The potion will be done soon and then I can start on my next batch. Where's the stupid ninja with my ingredients? She's been gone for hours."

"I'm right here, Ivy." Taki hissed, standing on top of an open window, holding several herbs. "I suggest you become more alert to your surroundings."

"Well, it's about time." Ivy snapped, ignoring the ninja's criticism. "Go find that elf before he does something foolish."

Link stood in Ivy's hallway, looking at pictures of her when she was younger. The pictures showed a girl with who appeared to be with her parents. They gave him a completely different aspect of her. She seemed so young and innocent in those pictures. Link couldn't help feel there was still good inside the woman, despite what everyone said about her.

"Link." Taki walked to the elf warrior. "The potion's almost done. You should come and have some."

"No." Link responded. "Others get well first."

"Are you sure?" Taki asked.

"Yes. I still up, they not." Link pointed out. It was clear he was greatly weakened. His face had turned much paler since Taki had left.

"Fine, but please don't overexert yourself. It appears even standing seems to take a lot of effort."

Link nodded in agreement at Taki's request as he followed her.

"Which one of your pathetic friends needs this batch first, elf?" Taki asked Link.

"Definitely not me." Yun-Seong spoke up weakly.

"You're awake?" Taki looked at the teen.

"Have been for awhile." Yun-Seong answered. "Make sure Mi-na gets the first batch. It's because of me she's hurt in the first place. I'll survive for now."

"I'll be O.K. too." Talim spoke.

"Well, that leaves the Athenian and Korean women." Ivy spoke. "Bring them over there." She indicated the beds in the back of her room.

Taki and Raphael picked up Cassandra and Mi-na and did as Ivy requested.

"Well, these two certainly look sick." Ivy commented, looking at the two pale and unconscious girls. "It looks like I have just enough time to save them." Ivy poured the liquid from the container into a large dart and stabbed both of the girls with it, making sure that every bit of the potion entered into their bodies.

"I suggest we let these two get some rest. Now if you'd excuse me, I have another potion to make."

Link watched Ivy as she worked late into the night. The woman told him to go to sleep, but he refused, fearing that if he slept, he wouldn't be able to wake up. Link's thought were interrupted when he heard Talim wake with a pitiful groan. Link limped over to the girl. She looked even worse than she had earlier.

"You O.K.?" Link asked, placing his hand on her forehead. She was burning up.

"I'm fine." Talim lied. "Link, I'm so sorry." A tear slid down her cheek as she began to sob.

"What?" Link questioned in total confusion.

"If you hadn't protected me, you would have never been poisoned. It's my fault. And now, I'm worried we're both going to die."

Link put his arms around the girl and comforted her. Luckily, Talim's cheeks were already red from the fever so no one noticed she blushed.

"Not your fault." Link informed. "No worries. We survive. Always do."

Talim looked into Link's sure eyes. Even on the brink of death, he wasn't willing to give up. He had confidence of their survival. Link's eyes suddenly began to droop as he fell unconscious.

"Link?" Talim called. "Link!"

Rolling her eyes, Ivy walked over to Link and checked his vital signs.

"Relax, he just fell asleep." Ivy assured. "Now stop trying to wake the dead. The idiot just exhausted himself. Your potion is about ready, so get some rest."

******

With the sun down, Raphael crept out of Ivy's house. He had to leave before his transformation took place.

"Where are you off to?" Taki asked. She stood behind the French nobleman with her arms crossed.

"Out for a midnight stroll." Raphael informed.

"Oh, really?" Taki snorted, crossing her hands.

Raphael had to think fast. Amy and Ivy already knew the truth. Amy wouldn't say anything because she was loyal to him. Ivy wouldn't because no one would believe her. Link's group hated her too much. The only one who didn't seem to hate her was the elf, but he was too trusting to realize that Raphael was leading them to their doom. This ninja was a different story. She clearly didn't trust him and she had the intelligence to realize there was something suspicious about him. Not only that, but she had the others' trust, so she could cause problems for him. However, Raphael knew that sometimes to deceive a person, the truth is often the best method.

"Well, as you know." Raphael began with a sad sigh. "Amy and I don't exactly look human. A while ago, I confronted Nightmare to seek out Soul Edge. I was able to beat him, but he had badly injured me. The cursed blade's dark magic infused itself into my blood, thus turning me into what I am now. During the day, I seem mostly human, but at night, I become a bloodthirsty monster. Amy also contracted this unfortunate illness because she attempted to nurse my wounds and received my blood on her. Luckily, she is not as affected by the dark blade's magic. She does not transform at night and can control her cravings much easier than I can. Just make sure that if a member of your party bleeds during the night, they are removed from her sight."

"An interesting story." Taki commented. "It so farfetched and yet it explains everything so perfectly. If it were a lie, you would have tried to make it more believable. I will leave to your own devices. However, if you or your daughter finds yourselves unable to control your cravings around us, don't expect me to hold back."

Raphael tensed. A threat towards him meant nothing, but nobody threatened Amy. It took all of the man's willpower not to thrash the ninja.

"Very well, madam, I will keep that in mind." With that, Raphael disappeared. His transformation began, enhancing his speed, and allowing him to move as fast as a blur.

Raphael continued through the woods, hunting for animals to devour. That would satisfy his hunger tonight.

"I didn't think that witch would be so easily swayed to help them. No matter. I simply have to sneak in and do the job myself. I had hoped it wouldn't come to this, but I suppose it will have to."

******

Ivy continued to work on her final batch of medicine. Yun-Seong and Talim had already received their doses. It put them to sleep, and Ivy was glad since she was sick of dealing with those children. She couldn't wait to get everyone out of her hair, especially that filthy nobleman's daughter who never stopped glaring at her. Now that the sun had gone down, the girl's eyes seemed to glow in the darkness as she watched Ivy.

Ivy suddenly froze in place and looked out the window. She could sense something with an evil aura approaching her home.

"But how?" The woman gasped.

"I'll be right back, so don't you worry." Ivy snarled towards Amy. The white-haired woman grabbed her weapon and quickly exited the room. She met up with Taki and Mitsurugi.

"You sense it too?" Mitsurugi asked.

Taki, Ivy, and Mitsurugi turned as they heard a heard a splash of water and a house crumble by the bay.

"Something that powerful is hard to miss." Ivy commented.

"It's a daemon; we need to go stop it." Taki announced, running towards the bay with Mitsurugi in pursuit.

Ivy was about to follow when she turned and sensed something else. Ivy jumped into the air and kicked off a wall to give herself a boost. She landed on top of a roof, where Cervantes waited for her.

"So, that foul beast was sent by you." Ivy hissed. "I'm not sure how you came back, but I'll gladly send you to your grave again."

"I'm here for the elf, but if you stand in my way, I'll kill you too, daughter."

Ivy roared and charged towards Cervantes. The undead pirate drew two blades and blocked Ivy's strikes. Even though neither of his blades had pieces of Soul Edge in them, Cervantes' power still seemed inhuman.

The pirate released a bullet from the handle of his gun towards Ivy. Ivy was able to dodge the bullet by stepping to the side. She turned her blade into its whip form, slashing at Cervantes with it. The pirate jumped back, avoiding the attack as the whip smashed through a brick chimney. Ivy noticed out of the corner of her eye that someone was sneaking into her house where she knew Link was probably asleep, helpless to defend himself.

Ivy turned and began to run towards her house but Cervantes jumped over her. Cervantes once again avoided a desperate whip attack from her and ran towards her. Ivy's whip transformed back into its sword as she blocked another blow from Cervantes. She then raised her clawed glove to block a blow from his second sword.

The two opponents stood with their weapons locked, both trying to push the other back. Red flames surrounded Cervantes' sword as lightening surrounded Ivy's sword and glove. Ivy fell to one of her knees as she began to lose the power struggle. She noticed that the roof she was under began to crack.

"I see." Ivy spoke, noticing a shard of metal on Cervantes' forehead that glowed red. "Someone put a shard in your body and that's what has kept you alive. So tell me, who was it?"

"A man in a white robe." The pirate answered. "Shame you'll be dead long before you can meet him."

Cervantes pushed Ivy through the cracked roof. Ivy fell to the floor in the middle of a mother and her daughter's living room. Both women screamed when they saw her.

*****

Amy placed her hand on Link's forehead and checked his temperature, as she had done every hour. Where were they? Ivy and the others should have been back by now. Not that she worried about them, but their survival impacted Link's, who she did care about.

Amy's ears perked up when she heard a door open. The girl quickly drew her rapier and saw a skeleton creature walk out of the darkness. Amy instantly recognized the creature as the one who had lead the attack against Link and the others earlier and whom Mitsurugi had defeated.

"Shouldn't you be buried?" Amy asked.

"Move aside girl. I was ordered to kill the hero while Cervantes distracted the others. Of course, if you wish to join the boy in death, I have no problem with that."

Amy pointed her rapier towards the skeleton.

"You're the only one who is going to die." The girl informed, as her eyes began to glow red and a purple aura surrounded her body.

Amy rushed towards the skeleton with surprising speed and stabbed at him. The skeleton was able to dodge the attack and slash at Amy's neck, but the girl ducked and stabbed the monster in the gut.

The skeleton stumbled backwards, surprised by the girl's strength and speed. It was the equivalence of a seasoned warrior's.

"You have some unique powers." The skeleton chuckled. "However, don't think that will save you. Unlike you, child, I can't die."

The skeleton creature again charged Amy with his two knives. Amy continued to block his attacks the best she could, but she was having trouble holding her ground.

Link opened his eyes. It took awhile for his vision to clear and for his senses to awaken. As soon as he saw Amy battling the monster, the Hylian warrior called upon his remaining strength.

Amy was knocked down and disarmed by the skeleton creature. As soon Link saw Amy in trouble, he moved like flash. Suddenly, he appeared in front of Amy and blocked the skeleton's attack. He slashed at the skeleton with his Master Sword, releasing a blue beam from of his sword. The beam of light vaporized the skeleton.

Once the smoke from Link's attack had cleared, he saw the head of the skeleton floating in the air. The creature was now harmless, but it still seemed intent to taunt Link.

"Do you think you've won? I don't think so. I was the greatest warrior of my time and haven't even begun to fight you! Do you hear me?"

Link simply grabbed the skeleton's head in his hands and crushed it. He then ran outside. He could sense several evil forces nearby and they were all very powerful.

"Where are you going?" Amy asked.

"To help friends." Link responded. He then turned around. "Amy, stay here."

"What are you doing? If you fight in this state, you'll get killed." Amy hissed.

"No worries. Haven't died yet." Link spoke as he fell to his knees. He had almost forgotten how drained he was. Link pulled a bottle of green potion from his bag. The potion wouldn't cure him, but it would temporarily restore his energy, giving him a chance to help his friends.

"Stay here and protect the others." Link ordered, now running out of the house.

*****

Ivy looked up at the girl and her mother.

"Oh great, now I'm going to have screaming kids to deal with." Ivy groaned rising to her feet.

The girl began to cry as Cervantes jumped in the middle of the floor.

"Stupid brat, shut up!" Cervantes yelled, firing a bullet at the child.

Ivy watched as the bullet flew towards the child, and something in her snapped. She managed to pull herself to her feet and quickly tackled the child just before the bullet hit her. The bullet hit Ivy in the shoulder.

"Get out of here, now!" Ivy shouted at the small girl and her mother.

The mother took her child and ran as Ivy pointed her sword towards Cervantes.

"How pathetic!" The undead pirate mocked. "Have you really become so soft that you would risk your own life for a pathetic child? How could you ever be my daughter?"

"I have never considered you my father, and I never will!" Ivy roared as she charged. She slashed at Cervantes with her blade.

The two warriors continued their furious battle. Cervantes stepped back from Ivy's attack and he knocked over a candle, causing fire to spread through out the house.

"What a fitting burial ground for you, daughter. Unlike you, I can't be killed by flames."

"Like it matters to me? As long as the elf's life remains and you die first, I could care less what happens to me!" Ivy growled as she continued to force Cervantes back with her attacks.

"Well, it's a shame none of your wishes will come true. My assassin colleague has probably taken care of him by now, and I'm sure the sea monster has devoured the rest of them."

"So, those things were caused by you. I should have known."

"The assassin is with me. I don't know where that sea monster came from. It attacked my ship as I traveled here. It's quite a handful."

"When I'm through with you, I'll just have to take care of those problems as well." Ivy jumped back from the pirate and thrashed her whip towards him. Cervantes again dodged the attack.

******

Mitsurugi and Taki had their hands full battling a strange monster at the harbor. The monster was large enough to swallow them whole and was covered with red scales that seemed to serve as armor against their attacks. The fish wore a mask with several horns protruding.

The two were forced to battle on land while the creature remained on the water, causing the battle to a stalemate. Even though Taki and Mitsurugi could focus their powers into their weapons and shoot lightening and powerful beams from their blades, the attacks didn't affect the fish. The fish retaliated by shooting powerful blasts of water towards them, capable of slashing through buildings. The two easily dodged the attacks, but the fight was beginning to tire them.

"Damn it!" Mitsurugi growled. "If we could attack it close up, we'd have won by now."

"I highly doubt that." Taki responded. "Even when we combine our attacks, it shakes them off as if it doesn't feel them. And I'm not about to go into the water to fight that thing. Its fins look sharper than blades."

"You think I don't know that?" Mitsurugi growled.

"Here it comes again." Taki warned as the two warriors jumped out of the way of a water attack.

"Din's Fire!" A voice yelled as a powerful blast of flames struck the water attack, evaporating the water and striking the fish.

"Now that was impressive." Mitsurugi commented. "I wonder who did it."

Mitsurugi and Taki turned around to see Link running towards them with the Master Sword in his hand. The marking on his left hand glowed brightly and gold colored flames surrounded his sword.

"What the hell?" Mitsurugi swore. "What are you doing here, elf?"

"Link, you shouldn't be here." Taki lectured. "You're still weak from the poison."

"I will deal with that thing." Link reassured as a powerful gold aura began to surround his body.

'So, he's about to use his full strength again.' Mitsurugi thought. 'Good. I've wanted to see him use this power.'

Link used one of the abilities of his Hero's clothing to transform his tunic into Zora mode. His purple tunic transformed into silver and blue mail that was carved to look like scales. His boots turned into blue fins and his hat had transformed into a helmet that was shaped like a fish. Link pulled down the visor to his helmet which was shaped like the face of a strange fish creature. Link knew that the mask looked like a Zora's face, but Mitsurugi and Taki didn't since Zoras didn't live in their world.

Link jumped into the water, ready to battle the monster. With the combined powers of his Triforce and Zora tunic/mail, he hoped he would be at equal grounds against the monster. His Zora outfit allowed him to breathe underwater and swim at speeds that rivaled a Zora. It also provided him extra protection and was especially effective against ice and water attacks.

The monster followed Link underwater as the Hylian hero tried to swim away from it. Link kicked against a rock and swam towards the monster with his blade, slashing at its side while avoiding its razor sharp jaws and fins. Surprisingly, Link's attack hadn't even scratched the monster's hard shell.

******

Talim awoke, fully recovered from her medicine. She looked around for Link, but discovered that many of her friends were gone, including the elf.

"Amy, where is everyone?" The girl asked.

"Link went to help the others fight." Amy replied, keeping her back turned.

"You just let him go? He's still weak. What if something happens to him?"

"He told me to stay here and protect you and the others. I didn't want to, but I trust him and will respect his orders."

Talim stared at the girl. This was the most she had ever spoken to Talim.

"Where is he now?" Talim asked.

"Probably by the bay."

"Well, I'm going to go help him."

"Suit yourself." Amy shrugged, walking away from Talim.

******

Link avoided the monster as it swam towards him, but he was having trouble competing against its agility in the water. Even elite Zoras wouldn't be able to out swim this monster. The monster managed to catch Link in its mouth and tried to bite down on the hero as he tried to keep the mouth open with his arms and legs. Link quickly raised an electric barrier around his body. He hoped that once he was inside the monster, he could destroy it from the inside. The barrier was a magical technique he had learned from the Zoras for water fighting. Much to Link's surprise, the electric barrier didn't seem to hurt the monster. Instead, it tried to bite down on Link harder. Link continued to keep his barrier activated, knowing if it vanished, he wouldn't survive.

The monster discovered that Link was not about to be its next meal. It spit Link out of its mouth, shooting him out of the water and onto the bay next to Taki and Mitsurugi.

"Link, are you O.K." Taki asked.

"Yeah." Link groaned, rising to his feet and using his sword for support.

"Link, don't be foolish." Taki lectured. "You're still too weak to fight and you're injured now."

"Link!" Talim cried, running towards Link with her weapons in hand.

"Talim, watch out!" Link warned as the giant monster leapt out of the water and flew in the girl's direction. Link suddenly noticed the monster's underbelly seemed to be fleshy.

"That's it." Link spoke, quickly shooting a blast of lightening at the creature's gut, causing it roar in pain and retreat back into the water before it could hurt Talim.

"Why you here?" Link questioned Talim.

"I was about to ask you the same thing." Talim began to lecture. "You're hurt and sick. You need to go back."

"No." Link argued. He would not abandon his friends; especially sense his Hero's clothes were the only things that would allow them to beat the monster.

The monster shot a blast of water towards the group again. Link raised his shield, protecting him and the others from the attack. If it weren't for the magical enchantments that the Hylians placed on their shields, it would have easily shattered from the attack. Link skidded backwards several feet from the monster's attack.

"Link, here!" Talim shouted, tossing Link her weapons. "My weapons are better suited for underwater fighting."

Link caught the girl's weapons and held them in his hands. 'She's right.' Link thought to himself. 'These elbow blades are a lot like Zora fins."

The giant fish monster opened up his mouth and released a bunch of smaller versions of it, which had the ability to fly through the air towards the heroes. Since Talim no longer had a weapon to defend herself, Taki quickly jumped in front of the girl to protect her from the monsters. The ninja made strange symbols with her hands and then struck ground. A ball of blue flames surrounded Taki's body and expanded, incinerating any monster that came into contact.

Link sliced through the smaller monsters, making his way towards their producer. The Hylian warrior jumped into the air and performed a flip so he was above the larger monster. Link drew his bow and quickly shot an arrow into the creature's eye. Luckily, the eye wasn't armored, and the monster thrashed around violently as the arrow stunned it. Link took this as his opportunity to activate his iron boots, causing him to land in the water with a loud splash. He quickly sank to the ocean floor.

Link walked underneath the monster and used his magic to form an electric barrier around himself. Link's Triforce mark once began to glow as he called upon all of its power for one last blow. Link deactivated his iron boots so his boots could turn into his flippers. With Talim's elbow blades pointed above his head, Link began to swim towards the fish's belly, twirling the elbow blades in a circle.

Taki and Mitrusurgi had successfully dispatched the smaller monsters when they saw a tornado made of water and lightening burst out of the ocean with the giant monster on top of it.

"Look! It's Link!" Talim pointed towards the portion of the tornado where a spinning Link had Talim's elbow blades violently gashing into the monster's stomach.

Link ceased his attack and the giant monster landed with a large thud next to Taki, Mitsurugi, and Talim, electricity still coursing through its body due to the warrior's magical attack.

The monster slowly began to shrink until it was only about half the size of Talim and then burst into smoke, leaving only its mask.

"Another mask." Taki spoke, picking up the item. "It seems like the daemons that wear these are stronger than most."

Link landed next to Taki.

"Nice job Link. You won." Talim congratulated.

"Thanks." Link smiled. As soon the mark on Link's hand stopped glowing, the elf suddenly collapsed and fell unconscious. His face became pale again and his skin looked almost slimy.

"Oh no, Link!" Talim cried.

"Damn it! I forgot that Link is still under the poison's effect, and something tells me this fighting didn't help. Talim, hold onto this mask and don't let anyone else touch it."

The ninja picked up Link and ran towards Ivy's house.

"That witch just better be there."

*****

Ivy was thrown back by one of Cervantes' attacks. Despite Ivy's fearsome attacks against the pirate, she was beginning to tire. Cervantes, on the other hand, didn't seem fazed from the battle. This was probably because he wasn't truly alive.

"You grow tired, daughter. Shame my body isn't inhibited by your mortal weaknesses."

"You may think you are invincible, but I know full well you aren't."

"Is that so?" Cervantes growled. The pirate slashed at Ivy with his blade. Ivy blocked the attack, but the force of it knocked her onto her back.

"Now die!" The pirate yelled. Cervantes spread his arms wide as the shard on his forehead began to glow. The fire around the house collected into the pirate's blades, causing his blades to become surrounded by the flames. The pirate launched the flames towards Ivy.

Ivy quickly rolled out of the way of the attack and jumped into the air towards Cervantes. His attack had left him wide open. Lightening surrounded Ivy's glove once more as she slashed at the pirate's forehead, removing the shard from within his body.

"No!" The pirate screamed. As soon as the shard left his body, Cervantes' body decayed, leaving nothing but his bones and clothes.

"Idiot." Ivy grumbled, limping out of the house. She was greeted by Taki and Mitsurugi.

"Well, it's nice to see you're O.K." Mitsurugi grumbled.

"What the hell happened to him?" Ivy roared, pointing at Link.

"He decided to help us fight." Taki informed. "We couldn't stop him."

"Then you simply knock him out!" Ivy released a frustrated growl. "Come on! I need to give him the antidote, assuming it's not too late."

Taki brought Link back to Ivy's house where Amy waited patiently. When Amy saw Link unconscious, a look of terror crossed her face.

"Quickly, set him on the table." Ivy instructed.

Ivy began to check Link's vital signs.

"Damn it! The idiot nearly killed himself. The poison in his body has probably attacked most of his organs now."

"What's going on?" Mi-na asked, as she and the others began to wake up.

"Link is almost dead!" Talim replied, panic in her voice.

"What?" Cassandra cried. "I thought that witch was going to cure him!"

"There were some complications." Taki explained. "Ivy, can you still save his life?"

"If he was an ordinary man, no." Ivy informed. "Since he is strong, there might be a chance."

"Ivy hurried to her table where she grabbed the medicine she had prepared for Link. Ivy placed the beaker of medicine onto the table and drew one of her magical circles around it with chalk, transforming the yellow liquid into purple.

"Quickly take off his shirt." Ivy ordered.

"Sure, no sweat." Mi-na spoke as she helped in this matter.

"I had to arrange the drug's chemical structure to make a more powerful version of it. In order to save his life, I'll have to overdose him. This would normally kill a person, but he'll die either way, so we might as well try." Ivy explained, pouring the liquid into a variety of shots.

Ivy gave Link several shots around his body. She shot one in his stomach, one in his heart, and one in each of his limbs.

"Now, quickly turn him over." Ivy instructed as she gave Link a shot in the back.

"You better know what you're doing." Taki threatened.

"I told you already, this kind of treatment would kill an ordinary person, but any ordinary person couldn't have survived with that poison as long as the elf could have."

"What do we do now?" Talim asked.

"We wait." Ivy informed.

Everyone waited for Link to either wake up or die. Everyone was worried about him, even Yun-Seong. What was most disturbing was that they were all helpless. If Link died, there was nothing any of them could do about it.

"He's waking up!" Talim announced after a couple hours.

"What happened?" Link slurred. He was still under the influence of the medicine and was still only semi-conscious.

"You have to be the stupidest, pig-headed, idiot I have ever come across!" Ivy yelled at Link. "Didn't you realize that fighting would increase your heartbeat, causing the poison to spread across your body more quickly?"

"Yes." Link answered honestly.

"And you still did it?" Ivy growled. She walked out of the room with her fist clenched. "Don't even bother trying to get up. The drugs you were given will keep you drowsy for the rest of the night."

"Ivy." Link interrupted before Ivy could leave the room.

"What is it?"

"Thank you."

Ivy unclenched her fists and looked back at Link.

Link stared into Ivy's eyes, trying to look into her heart like Zelda could do. No one seemed to like this woman and claimed she was evil. It was true; his first impression of her was about the same when she attacked Amy. Yet, there was something he trusted. It was if that part of her in the picture was still there.

She turned around, clearly not enjoying his staring.

"I expect you all to be out of here by tomorrow afternoon." Ivy informed. "Our truce will be over then, and if you are still around, you will feel the wrath of my blade."

"Don't worry; we'll leave as soon as possible." Taki spat as the two women became archenemies once again.

With that, Ivy left the room.

"Let's get some sleep everyone." Taki suggested. "Mi-na, since you're feeling better now, could you take the first watch? I'm worn out from fighting."

"Sure, no problem. It'll be good to actually do something again."

******

Raphael stood on a hill, watching the scenes in Ivy's home from above.

"So, those fools failed to eliminate the elf. Figured they would. Shame, my plan of poisoning them all would have worked if it hadn't been for that damn witch. Who would have thought she would actually help them? No matter, I guess I'll just have to do things myself."

Raphael wanted to avoid killing Link himself at all costs, but since his plan the mysterious hooded man's plan had both failed, he had no choice.

Raphael snuck into the house. Even Mi-na's keen senses were thrown off by Raphael's "special" abilities. The French nobleman was able to sneak into Link's room safely. Luckily, the wind priestess and ninja were fast asleep. Out of everyone, they were the only two who could have sensed him.

Raphael slowly crept to Link's bed, silent as a cat. Link was out cold from the medicine. Raphael drew a small dagger out of his belt when he noticed something. Amy sat in a chair next to Link, fast asleep. She had attempted to stay up to care for Link. Her head lay on the elf's chest while she grasped one of his hands.

Raphael released a sigh and sheathed his knife.

"Oh, Amy." The Frenchmen sighed as he began to leave. "I never thought you'd be the person standing in my way of creating a world for us."

Without a trace, Raphael vanished into the darkness.


	23. Chapter 22 Warrior Princess Part 2

Ch. 22 Warrior Princess Part 2

Hilde had just finished putting on her armor when Yushimitsu appeared in her room. Today was the day of her march. After all her planning and recruiting, she and her army would venture towards Grandall and defeat King Strife. After that, she and her forces would destroy Soul Edge once and for all.

"Your highness, I have dire news." Yushimitsu announced.

"What is it?" The princess asked.

"Strife is planning on massacring yet another village."

"So what else is new?" The princess snorted. "Don't worry, once we attack that man's capitol, we'll make him pay."

"Yes, but at what cost?" Yushimitsu questioned. "I am not about to allow hundreds of innocent people to die when we have the resources to stop them."

"I suppose you'll be taking your group with you to stop them?"

"No, I will leave my men under your charge. They already have a head start and a large group will only travel slower. I will take care of this myself, your highness. I've been waiting for a chance to give these scoundrels a taste of justice with my blade."

"Very well. Good luck to you."

"Thank you, your highness." Yushimitsu leapt into the air vanished.

********

Just as King Strife said, guards arrived to pick up Siegfried and the others at sundown. Xianghua had changed clothes, this time wearing a sparkling blue shirt in the same style as her pink shirt. Both Sophitia and Siegfried had removed their armor. Sophitia wore a white skirt and Siegfried wore a plane tunic and pants. Siegfried was wary about removing his armor, but Sheik had convinced him that not doing so would cause suspicion.

"Siegfried, I would be greatly honored if you and your friend, Sophitia, would sit by my side."

"Of course, your highness." Sophitia answered, not daring to reject such an honor.

Strife had made sure the meal was absolutely perfect, serving some of the best food he had in his castle. His servants were shocked when he actually treated them with respect and did not beat them for any mistake. They knew something was wrong, but dared not speak for fear of their lives.

"Tell me, your highness." Sheik began to ask. "You mentioned that Siegfried once killed a dragon. In my lands, dragons don't exist. Could you please tell me how one managed to be in Europe?" Of course Sheik was lying. Dragons existed in the world of Hyrule, especially across the seas where certain nations were filled with dragons. Most people didn't seem to know that dragons weren't naturally violent creatures. They attacked when they felt threatened or had been manipulated by dark magic.

"Yes, that is a very interesting story." Strife answered. "No one knows where this dragon came from; it just appeared in the mountains, killing any travelers who passed. Later, it began to lay siege to European cities. Many people tried to stop it, but no one succeeded. Well, no one except Siegfried, that is. Personally, I always believed dragons were legend."

"Have any other dragons ever been seen?" Sheik asked.

"There are stories about the occasional knight finding a dragon in a cave or some villager seeing a dragon flying over their city, but nothing has been verified. I suppose they are trying to compare to Siegfried and the lovely Sophitia's adventures."

"Thank you, your highness. You give us too much credit." Sophitia spoke.

"Nonsense." Strife continued. A servant approached Strife and refilled his glass of wine. "Why, thank you, Florina."

"Tha…thank you, your highness." The servant stuttered as she spoke. She seemed speechless that Strife had actually thanked her and bowed as she left.

"Please, pardon my servants' nervousness." Strife apologized. "They are always nervous when I have guests."

As dinner continued, Strife spoke to his guests about various topics and seemed to do nothing but praise Siegfried and Sophitia. It soon became late. Everyone began to show signs of fatigue.

"Well, would you look at time?" Strife yawned. "I must make my exit. I greatly enjoyed visiting with you, but if you'd excuse me, I must really retire to my chambers. I have to take care of some small tax issues before I go to bed. I wish you all a good night."

Strife left with a small group of guards. Strife's guests were escorted back to their hotel.

"Well, I'll see you later." Maxi announced.

"Where are you going?" Xianghua asked.

"That bar." Maxi informed as he pointed across the street.

"You just had several glasses of wine." Kilik informed.

"Yeah. For a king, that guy didn't have the greatest looking servants. I'll see you all in the morning. Then again, make it afternoon. I plan on sleeping in."

"He never changes." Xianghua sighed. "So, what are you going to do, Kilik?"

"I'm going to bed. I plan on getting up early tomorrow and train."

"Need a partner?" Xianghua asked.

"Sure, I would like to claim my victory over our last match."

As Kilk, Sophitia, and Xianghua retired for the night, Siegfried and Sheik stayed up and discussed Strife. It had taken every bit of control he had to resist revealing the truth about the King, especially when he had started insulting Princess Hilde. Siegfried continued to pace the floor nervously while Sheik meditated.

"The longer we stay here, the harder it is going to be to convince everyone that Strife is a bad guy." Siegfried spoke. "With his performance during dinner, the others are obviously quite impressed with him. I wish they wouldn't have gone to bed or left before we had a chance to explain. Sheik, are you even listening? This is important."

"Yes, but I am focusing on a much larger picture than you are." Sheik responded. "Was everything that Strife told us during dinner about dragons true?"

"Yes, surprisingly, he was telling the truth. The only known dragon to have actually existed was the one I killed."

"So, no one has ever thought about why that was the only dragon?"

"Well, no, not really. It was probably a creature conjured by Soul Edge to protect its fragments. That's what it had been doing."

"Where can I find the dragon?"

"Its remains should be located somewhere in the mountains along the south coast, but it would take days to find them."

"I'll be back here by tomorrow, if not the day after." Sheik began. "Whatever you do, don't blow our cover. Do what King Strife asks, and if you get the chance, explain to the others what is going on. Just please be careful and watch over the others."

Before Siegfried could reject to Sheik's proposal, he vanished in a burst of smoke.

******

King Strife was having yet another meeting with his so-called adviser, Shadow.

"You have done well, your highness." Shadow complimented. "Now, comes part two in wooing your fair lass."

"Yes, I know. I have to order my men to treat every wretched peasant with respect they don't deserve, lower my taxes to a ridiculous rate, and have my men hand out money to the poor. Disgusting!"

"Keep in mind this is only for a short time. You can always raise your taxes and take the money back once you have your queen."

"I suppose so." The wicked king sighed. "Now, if you'd excuse me, I'm going to bed now. I would like to awaken early to greet the lovely Sophitia."

*******

Sophitia woke early the next morning. Kilik and Xianghua had already left for training, Sheik had vanished, and Maxi and Siegfried were still asleep. Considering how late Maxi came in, he would probably be asleep for a few more hours, but Siegfried would probably wake up soon.

Sophitia decided this was a good time to start packing. They couldn't stay here for long, despite King Strife's gracious hospitality. She and her new companions had to continue their quest to destroy Soul Edge, and she had to find her sister.

After packing, Sophitia went outside to get some fresh air. It had been so long since she had seen her sister and a moment didn't pass when she didn't think of her. She had to have faith though, faith that Hephaestus would protect Cassandra just as he had protected Sophitia.

"My lady, I didn't think you would be up this early." Strife announced as he rode up to Sophitia on a white horse accompanied by two guards.

"My lord, what brings you here?" Sophitia asked.

"Oh, I was wondering if you and your friends would like a tour of the city."

"Yes, certainly." Sophitia answered, mounting her horse. "It would be nice to get out for a while."

As King Strife led Sophitia around town, the warrior maiden felt relieved there was at least one town that seemed to be doing well. People busily ventured across the roads, chattering happily.

What Sophitia didn't realize was that Strife had sent his men to give money to the citizens with orders that all the citizens were to act as if they were living in heaven, or their life would become hell. Even though life was already hell with Strife as a ruler, the citizens willingly obeyed, knowing it would be torture and death for disobeying the King.

As Strife led Sophitia around town, a child ran across the road, frightening Strife's horse. Strife's horse bucked him off as it kicked upward from the boy's sudden presence.

"Chase!" And elderly woman yelled. She grabbed the boy by the arm and pulled him out of the middle of the road.

The woman began to shield the boy as if to protect him from some sort of oncoming onslaught as two of Strife's guards drew their weapons.

"I'm sorry your highness." The woman began to beg. "He's just a child, he didn't know any better."

Strife rose to his feet and raised hand, indicating for his guards to put away their weapons as he turned to the woman and spoke to her in his fake warm and friendly voice.

"Now, now, there is nothing to be worried about. No harm was done. Just make sure your son knows better from now on, miss. Please, have a good day."

Strife couldn't believe he was speaking to a wretched peasant in such a composed manner. He should have beaten her for her insolence and her attempts to make excuses for her brat.

"I'm really surprised by how you acted." Sophitia admitted as she continued to ride next to Strife. "Most rulers I've seen would have been furious about such a matter, but you handled it so calmly. This kingdom is lucky to have a ruler like you."

Strife led Sophitia up a hill that allowed them to look over the city and what appeared to be all its glory.

"Your city is very beautiful, my lord." Sophitia complimented.

"I try my best to help its citizens. I only hope that one day I will be able to stop the Kingdom of Wolfkrone from destroying this land.

"I'm sure you will one day, my lord." Sophitia assured. "You fight for what is right. I believe that the gods will join your side."

"One can only hope you are correct." Strife commented. "Still these nights I spend worrying about my kingdom have already begun to take their toll on me. I spend my nights alone with no one to love. Sophitia, when your mission is over, would you consider coming back to Grandall and help me protect and raise this country?"

"My lord, what are you implying?" Sophitia asked.

"I'm sorry; I've never been good at things like this. Sophitia, I was wondering if you would consider becoming my wife."

"What?" Sophitia suddenly gasped. "I'm sorry, your highness, but I'm already happily married and have two children." Sophitia held up her ring so that the king could see, causing a look of sadness to overcome Strife.

"How could I have been so foolish?" Strife yelled. He turned his back and punched a rock with false frustration and sadness.

"Your highness, I'm really sorry to have hurt you." Sophitia apologized.

"All my life I have had no one." Strife began. "When I was young, I couldn't protect my parents or older siblings from death. I'm sorry; I shouldn't have dragged you into this."

"It's all right, your highness, I understand. But if you'd excuse me, I really must join Siegfried and the others. We will be leaving soon for our journey."

"Yes, of course, my lady." Strife agreed.

As Sophitia began to ride away from the King, he quickly stopped her. "Lady Sophitia? If you or your friends ever need help, you can still come to me regardless of what has happened."

"Thank you, my lord." Sophitia answered, now feeling awkward and slightly worried.

When Sophitia was out of sight, Shadow appeared next to King Strife.

"Well done, your highness." Shadow congratulated. "Soon, she will discover her family has been killed by Wolfkrone soldiers, and then she will come weeping to you."

"That will not come soon enough." Strife yelled. "She plans to leave today. If I do not act soon, I may lose my chance."

"Patience, my lord." Shadow lectured.

"I have lost patience. If I can't win her through deception, then I will have her by force."

"Are you sure that is the best course of action? Do not forget the dragon killer is with her and will most likely protect her if he sees you as a threat."

"Yes, I was planning to use him against Princess Hilde, but if that is the case, I have no use for him."

"How do you plan to kill him, my lord?"

*******

When Sophitia returned to the hotel, she found Siegfried panicking because she had left on her own.

"There you are." Siegfried cried. "I've been looking all over for you."

"Siegfried's been freaking out since you left." Maxi explained as he held a pillow over his head. No one could tell if he covered his head because he had a hangover or because Siegfried was so noisy while he worried. Sophitia guessed it was a combination of the two.

"Siegfried even woke me up." Maxi continued as he turned to the knight. "That was a good dream you interrupted."

"Let me guess, it involved girls?" Xianghua giggled.

She and Kilik had returned from their sparring session only to find Siegfried banging on Maxi's door to wake the pirate.

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to worry anyone." Sophitia apologized. "King Strife came to greet us, but you were all either still asleep or gone, so I went on a tour of the city. There was nothing to be worried about. I was with Strife and his guards the whole time." Sophitia decided to omit the part about the King's proposal. It was none of anyone's business, and she didn't wish to hurt the ruler further by announcing it.

"That was exactly what I was worried about." Siegfried began.

"What do you mean?" Sophitia asked.

Siegfried turned to see a couple of people glancing at them, no doubt listening to their conversation intently now that the King's name had been mentioned.

"Let me explain where we can't be overheard." Siegfried motioned everyone into his room. Sheik had not yet returned from his strange adventure, but Siegfried was more worried about Sophitia and what Strife's true intentions were to take heed of his missing companion.

Siegfried made sure the door was locked and all the windows were closed before he spoke.

"As I was saying." Siegfried tried again. "Strife is the one I'm worried about."

"And why would you say such a thing?" Sophitia asked, not able to believe the words coming from the knight's mouth.

"Yeah, what do you mean? The guy's been nothing nice to us from the very beginning." Maxi added.

Siegfried gave a long sigh. He had known this was going to happen. Siegfried hadn't even begun to explain and everyone was already in disbelief. Strife had already wrapped his companions around his finger.

"Please, listen to me before you judge." Siegfried instructed. "I don't know much about Strife, but I know he hasn't been truthful with any of us. Princess Hilde is not the malevolent dictator that Strife has made her to be. I know her, I met her once. She is on a journey to save her country and destroy Soul Edge."

"But why would Strife lie to us?" Sophitia asked.

"I don't know." Siegfried admitted. "But I don't trust that man."

"It's possible that he simply sees this Princess Hilde as an enemy because they are going to war with each other and neither of them is necessarily evil or good?" Kilik spoke up.

"I agree with Kilik." Sophitia acknowledged. "I can't see how a man like him could ever be evil, Siegfried."

"No, it is not that." Siegfried corrected. "Trust me, I know an evil man when I see one."

"Why, does it take one to know one?" Maxi asked accusingly.

"Yes, it does." Siegfried answered, knowing full well what Maxi was implying.

"I'm sorry Siegfried, but I'm afraid you're wrong." Sophitia informed the knight. "You have not seen how kindly he treats his people. You haven't heard him say the things that I have heard him say."

"Sophitia, have you become that blind to this man? Trust me; he is not what any of you think he is." Siegfried lectured.

Then what is he, Siegfried?" Sophitia shouted.

"I hate to break it to you, Siegfried, but you're not exactly the most trustworthy of us here." Maxi informed.

"You know, it's not like it matters anyway." Xianghua informed. "We're going to leave today anyway, so don't worry about it."

"I have to worry about it. I swore to stop Soul Edge and anything that has to do with it. Remember how Sheik said he sensed evil here earlier? That evil could be Soul Edge."

"So now you think King Strife has a piece of Soul Edge?" Sophitia shot back. "That's impossible! You know as well as I do what those shards do to a person, and he does not show any symptoms of insanity or pain."

Siegfried could only growl in frustration. He knew he would not get anywhere in this conversation. The more he tried to push this subject, the more hostile his companions became. He had no choice but to give up.

"Very well, I'll drop this conversation for now." Siegfried announced. "But I suggest we ask Sheik for advice before we make our next journey."

Siegfried was hoping that maybe Sheik would able to convince them, but he doubted even the mysterious figure could accomplish that.

Siegfried went outside for a break from everyone. He noticed King Strife with a group of soldiers heading out of town.

"Your highness, where are you off to?" Siegfried asked, trying to sound polite.

"Oh, I heard there were soldiers of Wolfkrone on the western borders, so I decided to take some of my men to deal with them before they can hurt anyone."

'_Yeah right, I bet.'_ Siegfried silently snorted to himself. "Do you need any help, your highness?" Siegfried asked. He wasn't sure what Strife planned, but he intended to stop him.

"Why, it would be an honor to have you by my side." Strife replied. The king turned to one of his men. "Quickly, fetch Sir Siegfried a horse."

Sophitia watched as Strife and his men marched off to battle. She ran out of hotel to see what was going on.

"Your highness, where are you going?" Sophitia asked, still feeling awkward around the King.

"Out to stop some opposing soldiers. Siegfried has agreed to join me."

"Is that true?" Sophitia asked Siegfried, shocked to hear the knight would go anywhere with the king after claiming he was a power-hungry tyrant.

"I only wish to make sure no one gets killed." The knight answered truthfully.

"Then I will come as well." Sophitia offered.

"No. You should stay here." Siegfried suggested.

"Why?" Sophitia asked as she placed her hands on her hips.

"I'm sure Siegfried is just worried about you." Strife assured. "I agree with his decision, even though I have no doubt you are a great warrior. The people of this town would feel much safer if they knew you remained here."

Sophitia bit her lip with that remark. "Very well, if that is what you wish, your highness."

Siegfried mounted his horse and followed Strife out of town. As the group of knights traveled across a field, Strife tried to make conversation with Siegfried.

"Siegfried, I can't help but notice your sword." Strife commented.

"What do you mean?" Siegfried asked.

"Well, its size. The only person who I've known who can wield a sword that large is me."

Siegfried noticed the sword Strife carried on his back was indeed very large. It was as large as the King. Only a handful of blades were that size, and they usually had some sort of connection to Soul Edge.

'_Could that be?'_ Siegfried asked himself. _'No, it couldn't.' _

"So, your highness, how did you come across such a great blade?" Siegfried asked.

"It was a gift." Strife responded. "It was supposedly used by the great Hercules himself. Or so the legend says."

"Does it have any powers?" Siegfried asked.

"It is believed to increase the strength of whoever holds that blade, but as far as I can see, that is a legend. Look! There is our enemy." Strife pointed down the hill towards a group of Wolfkrone knights.

"Prepare to attack men." Strife ordered.

"Wait! Shouldn't we find out what they want?" Siegfried suggested, trying to prevent the deaths of the Wolfkrone knights without blowing his cover.

"Don't be ridiculous." Strife argued. "If we wait, they'll attack a village."

"But they don't seem to be doing anything disruptive at the moment." Siegfried continued.

"Siegfried, I don't know if you have dealt with these people before, but let me tell you, they are savages. They kill women and children mercilessly. If they are left alone, they will destroy everything in your path."

"Are you sure you're not giving them qualities of someone else you know?" Siegfried asked, his tone becoming more accusatory. He knew what he was doing was foolish, but he wasn't about to let good men die at the hands of Strife.

"Sir Siegfried, if you are not going to assist me, then I suggest you leave and let me deal with these monsters." Strife instructed, his tone becoming more deadly.

Siegfried knew he had no choice but to act. Siegfried couldn't leave, knowing good men would die. In his eyes, that would be the same as if he killed them himself. It was because he had done those very kinds of deeds in his past that made him reveal his knowledge of the mad King. He had to stop Strife before he killed innocent people

"I will not let you kill for your own accord." Siegfried informed. "If you want to attack them, you'll have to get past me first."

"So, you have finally shown your true colors." Strike smirked. "No matter, whether you live or die, you will still be put to good use to my plans. You two." Strike pointed to two of his more trusted warriors. "Return to the castle with me. As for the rest of you, kill Sir Siegfried."

As Strife and his two guards rode towards the castle, the remaining men drew their swords and faced Siegfried.

"I don't wish to hurt any of you." Siegfried spoke as he drew Soul Calibur. "But if you try to stand in my way, then you leave me no choice."

*******

As Strife and his two men traveled towards the castle, Strife stopped them to explain the plan.

"Remember, Siegfried died saving my life, and if anyone says differently, they will be dealt with the utmost harshness."

The malicious ruler then grabbed his own blade and stabbed himself in the side so that it looked like he had been injured. Strife climbed off his horse and killed it so it wouldn't be able to follow him.

"Now carry me back to town as if I've just been gravely injured."

One of the men helped the king on to his horse and began to "assist" him back to town.

When King Strife and the others arrived in town, Sophitia was waiting earnestly. She and the rest of the group had packed their belongings and prepared to set off once Siegfried and Sheik returned. Sophitia gasped when she saw Strife and quickly ran to the King.

"My lord, what happened to you?" Sophitia gasped as she ran up to the injured king.

"We were ambushed by bandits." Strife grunted in pain.

"What happened to Siegfried?" Sophitia asked, concerned.

"Sophitia, I don't know how to tell you this, but Siegfried… Siegfried died."

"What?" Maxi blurted. He, Kilik, and Xianghua had come to greet Strife when they saw him return and were shocked to hear the news of Siegfried's death.

"We tried to save him, but he was dead before we could do anything." Strife explained. "I'm really sorry. If it makes you feel better, he died a hero's death. The brave soul threw himself towards the bandits, fighting as if he was some sort of daemon. If it hadn't been for his courage, all of us would have died."

"Your lord, we must get you to the castle immediately." One of the guards interrupted.

"I'm aware of that; right now my mind is on the one we lost."

"You should do as your men suggest, your lord." Sophitia argued. "I too am greatly grieved by Siegfried's death, but I am also worried about you. If you die, who will lead your country and protect its people? We can worry about everything else when you are healed."

"Yes, you are truly a wise woman, Sophitia." Strife spoke. "If you need anything, feel free to come to the castle. I don't intend to let these small wounds keep me down."

"I can't believe Siegfried is dead." Kilik submitted.

"It really makes me feel guilty about how we treated him." Xianghua blabbed. "We constantly doubted him and his allegiance and now he died protecting someone he didn't trust."

"Yes, strange is it not?" Sophitia asked in a suspicious tone that caught her three comrades' attention.

"What do you mean?" Xianghua asked.

"I'm beginning to wonder if there was some truth behind Siegfried's suspicions."

"What?" Kilik exhorted.

"Come." Sophitia spoke. "I think it's time that we have a talk with his highness."

As soon as Sophitia saw Strife appear without Siegfried, a red flag went up in Sophitia's mind, especially because she knew Siegfried thought Strife was a bloody tyrant, and now Strife claimed Siegfried died protecting him. Something wasn't adding up with Strife's story, and she wanted to know what.

Kilik, Maxi, and Xianghua followed Sophitia as she raced towards King Strike's castle. After seeing Sophitia's suspicions, they too were beginning to wonder about the King's true motives.

"We're here to speak to his highness." Sophitia announced to the guards that were standing in front of the castle.

"Of course. He's in his throne room waiting for you." The guard informed.

"Thank you." Sophitia still had courtesy towards Strife's men, for she didn't view them as enemies.

"Strife sure made a quick recovery." Maxi whispered in his comrades' ears. "He's already back on his feet after being ambushed.

Sophitia and her allies walked into throne room to see Strife's sitting in his chair while his wounds were bandaged by a figure dressed in a black cloak.

"Sophitia, I did not expect you." Strife spoke. "I'm guessing you're here to talk about your friend's death?"

"That is exactly what we are here to speak about, your highness." Sophitia spoke up. "My lord, Siegfried has been suspicious of you since the day we met you and you spoke about Princess Hilde. Siegfried said Princess Hilde was a good ruler who only wanted to destroy Soul Edge."

"Is that so? I was not aware that Siegfried felt that way about Princess Hilde." Strife began, trying to keep his smooth and friendly voice, even though it was clear to Sophitia that he was beginning to feel slightly agitated. "I wish you would have told me that sooner. I had no idea he had been fooled by her beauty and lies."

"There is one other thing, my lord." Sophitia spoke. "Siegfried was a powerful warrior. I have trouble believing he would die so easily and that only two of your many men would return from a simple bandit attack. Your highness, what really happened to Siegfried?"

"I see you have been found out, your highness." The black-cloaked figure announced. "Guards, please escort them away"

As two guards approached the group, Xianghua quickly spun around with her blade drawn, disarming the guards and pointing her blade at their throats.

"I don't think so." Xianghua boasted.

"Well, my dear, I truly did hope it wouldn't come to this, but I'm afraid you have left me with no other choice." Strife sighed. He had been hoping to seduce Sophitia after she found out that her husband had died, but now that she knew, he would have to use his backup plan.

Strife drew the large sword he always carried over his back. This time, the sword was different. Along the bottom half of the blade, red skin covered the sword and there were large, red spikes poking out of the handle. The blade began to release an eerie red glow in its master's hand.

Sophitia fell to her knees, holding her chest and stomach. Strife must have found the shard of Soul Edge that Sheik had sensed and fused it with his own blade. Never had Sophitia felt such pain from a shard of Soul Edge before. Judging by her pain and the way Strife's sword had been transformed, the shard must have been a large and powerful one. The pain was so great for Sophitia that she actually blacked out.

"Sophitia!" Xianghua lost her concentration as she turned to see her friend fall to the ground. One of the guards tried to take advantage of the situation and attack Xianghua while her back was turned, but Maxi quickly reacted and knocked him out with some swift kicks.

"If you're going to attack a pretty lady, at least have the honor to fight fairly."

Strife, now showing his true rage and insanity towards the group, swung his sword in the air, causing a red beam of energy to fly out of his blade and cut through the ground towards his enemies.

All three of the warriors jumped into the air, dodging the attack with ease. Luckily, the attack hadn't been aimed at Sophitia since Strife still wanted her alive.

"Anyone besides me ready to kick this guy's ass?" Maxi asked.

"Yeah, let's get him!" Xianghua shouted.

"Where are my men?" Strife growled.

Maxi, Kilik, and Xianghua turned as they heard shouts come from the halls. Over a dozen guards ran into the room.

"Finally!" Strife growled. "Men, kill the warriors, but leave the Athens woman to me."

Strife ran over to Sophitia and picked up the unconscious woman as the guards charged Maxi, Kilik, and Xianghua.

"We need to take care of this quickly so we can deal with Strife." Kilik suggesting, noticing the wicked king was escaping through a passage.

Kilik ran towards the guards and flipped two of them onto their backs by holding his staff so it hit them in their stomachs. He then swung over it. The Chinese monk knocked out another guard by hitting him in the head with his bow staff and then blocked two more guard's swords. Xianghua blocked a guard's spear and spun around behind him so that she could slash him in the back. She ducked to avoid another guard, parrying his attack with a slash of her sword. Maxi swung his nunchaku around a guard's weapon, disarming him, and kicked a guard that was trying to sneak up behind him in the stomach. Within a few minutes, the three warriors had defeated the men.

"Let's catch up with Strife." Kilik ordered.

Before the warriors could chase after the mad king, several more guards poured through the halls with weapons drawn, surrounding the room.

"Yeah, I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to have a little difficulty fighting over fifty men at once." Maxi informed. "I mean I'm good, but not quite good."

With Maxi's words, Sheik and an old Chinese man with a white beard jumped through a window and landed next to the three warriors.

"Sheik!" Xianghua cried.

"Master?" Kilik gasped, seeing the old man. "What are you doing here?"

"Keeping you out of trouble, as usual." The old man announced as he and Sheik drew their weapons.

********

Strife ran through the halls, holding the unconscious Sophitia.

"Those fools!" He growled. "Did they really think they could stand a chance against me when I have Soul Edge?"

As Strife ran down the hall, two of his men flew in his direction, already knocked unconscious.

"You! But how?" Strife gasped, looking as the warrior who had just defeated his two guards.


	24. Chapter 23 Vengeful Spirits

Ch. 23 Vengeful Spirits

**Wow, I haven't updated this story for over two months. I'm super sorry about that. These last two months at school have been ridiculous for me, and then there were finals. Luckily I'm on break now so I'll be updating my stories more frequently until school starts. Well, here's the next chapter and I hope everyone enjoys it. **

Two month ago…

A young woman dressed with blond air and ivory eyes walked into her master/adoptive father's house. Even though she was clearly not Japanese she was dressed in a kimono and carried with her a thin Japanese blade that was sheathed in an umbrella.

"Master, I'm back from by training through the mountains."

However, there was no answer.

"Master?" The woman slid open the door to her Master's room and dropped her umbrella when she saw him. Lying on the floor dead was her beloved master.

"Master!" The woman ran over to the man, cradling his head as she began to weep.

"It appears I arrived too late." A male voice spoke behind the woman.

The woman quickly spun around and drew her blade, pointing it the man's throat. The man was dressed in a white cloak that covered his face. He held a staff in his hand.

"Who are you?" The woman demanded.

"I'm terribly sorry for the intrusion." The man apologized. "I am a daemon hunter. I was tracking a dangerous wolf daemon when I came across this house. It appears this poor man was killed by it, based on the teeth and claw marks. I will assist you in burying him if you wish."

"No, I can do that myself. All I want to know is where I can find this daemon." The woman spoke, clenching her hands into a fist.

"He is most likely heading towards Europe, in search of a blade known as Soul Edge. I wouldn't recommend you following him though. Please, let me deal with him. I will assure he pays for the suffering he's cost."

'So, he's heading to Europe. Fine, as soon as I've buried my master, that daemon is dead."

*****

Present day…

After Link finally returned to his feet, he and the others continued their journey.

"So, will anyone mind telling me why he is following us?" Yun-Seong pointed to Mitsurugi, who was lagging behind the others.

"I'm looking for a challenge." Mitsurugi replied. "Journeying to destroy Soul Edge will be very dangerous and difficult, two things I enjoy most. Plus, someone has to keep an eye on the elf so he doesn't get himself killed, because if anyone's going to kill Link or Taki, its going to be…"

"It's going to be you." Taki finished the samurai's sentence. "You've said this enough, Mitsurugi. We get it."

"Why don't you just give up trying to defeat Link?" Yun-Seong asked Mitsurugi. "I mean, you'll never be able to do it."

"I don't know. Why don't you?" The samurai asked the teen, remembering one of the first things Yun-Seong tried to do this morning was to fight Link. As always, Link beat him in a single move and hadn't even broken a sweat.

"Tell me, is the reason you always try to fight Link is because your pride was hurt when you lost to him?" The samurai asked.

"What's you point?" The teen growled.

"Fighting due to hurt pride is pointless." The Samurai lectured. "If you want to be a warrior, you must accept your losses. You must learn to swallow your pride and learn there are warriors stronger than you. Learn from your losses and come back stronger. To me, a fight is worthless if I haven't been pushed beyond my previous limits. That is why the only two people I wish to fight are Link and Taki, because I know they can possibly beat me."

"What a heart warming speech, Mitsurugi." Taki yelled from the front of the group.

"Yeah, whatever, Taki." Mitsurugi growled. "Once this is over, we're going back to killing each other."

"Wouldn't want it any other way." The ninja laughed wickedly.

"Link, is there something wrong?" Talim asked, turning her attention to the elf. "You haven't spoken this entire time."

"Oh, no, nothing." Link responded. His mind was consumed by what Ivy had told him that morning.

******

_When Link was about to leave, Ivy caught him and spoke with him quickly._

"_Here, take this." The women spoke as she tossed Link a shard of Soul Edge. "I took it from a worthless scum bag. I figured since you're going to be the one to destroy this wretched thing, you should have it. Besides, I have no use for it." _

"_Thank you." Link thanked the woman. _

"_Whatever. Oh, and Link? Keep in mind that not all of your friends are what they appear to be." _

'_What could she have meant by that?'_ Link wondered. So far everyone had helped him on his adventure. Even Mitsurugi had proven himself trustworthy. The honorable samurai was not one to scheme. If he was going to kill someone, he'd tell them exactly where and when and he'd do it in a duel.

*****

The blond haired woman, named Setsuka, had arrived in Europe about a month ago and was continuing her journey for the daemon, Link.

"What is that stench?" Setsuka asked. "I can hardly breathe."

As the woman continued her journey, she came upon a swamp.

"So this is where that awful smell is coming from." Setsuka coughed, looking at the swamp. The swamp water bubbled and seemed to be purple instead of clear. The bubbles were releasing fumes that could possibly be toxic.

"You shouldn't be here." A male's voice spoke behind Setsuka.

The woman spun around to see the white-cloaked man behind her.

"So, you are here." Setsuka spoke.

"That I am." The man acknowledged. "Tell me though, why didn't you heed my warning and stay in Japan? Surely you aren't planning to take revenge on the daemon?"

"So what if I am?" Setsuka growled. "That monster killed my master. My master took me in when no one else would and cared for me when I was a child. I won't let that daemon go unpunished."

"That daemon has done far more than just killed a single person. Just look at what he's done to this swamp."

"Then I guess that's just one more reason to kill him."

"Very well. I see there is no persuading you otherwise. If you find yourself in trouble, use this." The white-cloaked man handed Setsuka a bottle that contained a red, glowing piece of metal. "This item will enhance your strength and speed, but it can be dangerous, so only use it if necessary. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to hunt down that daemon. My sources tell me he is currently in the form of a handsome man with blond hair and blue eyes with pointy ears. Oh, and be careful. That daemon has a strange ability to seduce women."

The white-cloaked figure vanished in the mist, leaving Setsuka to ponder the item she had just received.

*****

Link and the others began to make camp for the evening. Raphael and Amy gathered food before the sun set. Yun-Seong, who was in a bad mood, was already asleep. Mitsurugi sat under a tree while Taki sat by the fire. Cassandra and Talim both sparred against Link, improving their skills while he was able to at least keep his sharp.

"You know, I've never gotten to spar against Link yet." Mi-na spoke, as she watched Link, Cassandra, and Talim finally finish their fight.

"Hey Link! Think fast." The Korean woman jumped towards Link with her weapon. If it hadn't been for Link's speed, he might have been seriously injured by her thrust. Luckily, he was able to dodge it. Link continued to dodge Mi-na's attacks. Link finally caught the Korean woman's weapon, yanked it out of her hand, and tripped her with it. He then pinned her to the ground.

"Well, not too shabby." Mi-na chuckled. "You may want to get off me though. I think Talim and Cassandra are getting jealous.

Link quickly jumped off Mi-na, rubbing the back of his neck and blushing slightly. He turned to notice that Cassandra had a look on her face that depicted she was about ready to kill Mi-na.

"Anyway, we should have an English lesson with Link now." Talim suggested.

Setsuka watched her so-called daemon from the treetops, her hand on her blade and ready for battle.

"I see you have gathered a harem, daemon." Setsuka hissed. "Don't think that will stop me from cutting you down."

Taki and Mitsurugi both jumped to their feet, with their weapons ready to fight.

"What's wrong?" Talim asked.

"Someone's here." Taki warned.

Talim closed her eyes listening to the wind then opened them again. "You're right." Talim commented. "And they seem to have a shard with them."

Link reached for his sword and shield. As he did, a blond-haired woman dressed in a kimono jumped down from the tree.

"Die daemon!" She yelled, unsheathing her blade from an umbrella and throwing the umbrella towards Link.

Link cut the umbrella to pieces, only to discover it was only a distraction the woman used to get close and strike him with her blade. Link raised his shield to block the attack. The woman once again tried to slash at Link, but he jumped back.

Link was hesitant to strike back against this woman. She didn't seem to be possessed by Soul Edge, so why was she attacking him. The woman again lunged at Link with her blade, but he jumped into a high branch of a tree.

"Why are attacking me?"

"Like you don't know!" The woman replied, jumping up into the tree's branches. She continued to slash at Link with incredible speed, but the Hylian hero either avoided the attacks or blocked them. Link quickly jumped to a different tree, but the woman followed and continued to attack.

Talim, Mi-na, and the rest of the party watched the battle from the ground as the Link and the woman battled amongst the trees. It appeared that Link was having trouble fighting the woman as she continued to chase him through the branches until he had ventured out of sight.

"So, are we all going to sit here, or are we going kick that woman's butt?" Mi-na asked.

"Relax." Mitsurugi grumbled, putting away his weapon. "Or did you not notice that Link isn't even trying."

"What do you mean?" Talim asked the samurai.

"Link movements were much faster during the times he battled me." Mitsurugi explained.

"He doesn't want to kill the woman." Taki assumed. "He's most likely trying to figure out what's wrong with her."

"That's precisely what I was thinking." Mitsurugi agreed with his rival. "You know, that girl's fighting style seemed somewhat familiar. Wouldn't you agree, Taki."

"Actually, now that you mentioned it, it did sort of. Anyway, we should follow Link. We need to make sure Link doesn't get hurt."

"Agreed." Raphael interrupted. "Now, let's get moving. I would hate to see our friend get hurt for such a stupid reason."

*****

Link continued to fight the woman when he noticed a horrible stench in the air. The Hylian covered his nose and looked down to see a swamp filled with poisonous water.

"A fitting place for a daemon like you to die." The woman growled. "One step in that poison and you're a goner."

The warrior woman charged towards Link once again with her blade, slashing at him viciously.

"I don't want to fight." Link growled, continuing to block the woman's attacks. "Let's talk."

"Don't think that your seductive tricks will work on me. I'm not as easily fooled as those other women."

"Fooled?" Link questioned, ducking from another attack. "What are you talking about?"

"That's right! I know what you really are, so show me your true from, your daemon form!

Link suddenly froze for a second; the comment had caught him off guard.

'_How does she know that?'_ Link questioned.

This was all Setsuka needed as she ran towards Link and slashed at him. Link reacted just in time to avoid the direct attack, but the sword still caught him at the side.

'_Someone's manipulating her. It's obvious. But who is doing it?'_ Link thought, continuing to block the woman's attacks. _'I'll have to finish this to find out.'_

Link blocked another attack, and with a single slash of his blade, sent a powerful gust of wind toward the woman, knocking her backwards through the tree branches.

"So you finally got serious. Good!" The woman growled as she jumped across a tree branch towards Link.

Link not only blocked the woman's attacks, but retaliated with his own and tried to keep her on the defensive while doing as little as damage as possible. He hoped to exhaust his opponent to the point that she couldn't stand so he would be able to talk with her.

***

Setsuka continued to fight the daemon's attacks, only to find herself tiring and losing. Once again, she was knocked backwards from an attack. The daemon aimed some sort of strange gauntlet with a hook and chain attached towards her, which wrapped around her blade. The daemon tried pull Setsuka's sword out of her hand, but she refused to let go and began to be dragged towards him.

"I refuse to lose to someone like you." Setsuka growled. "It appears that I have no other choice."

Setsuka began to pull out a piece of metal that the white-clocked man had given her.

***

Link could sense instantly what was contained in that pouch, and if she used it, there was no telling what would happen to her. Link had been told by Taki during their journey that just a single shard of Soul Edge could multiply a person's strength and corrupt their mind and body.

"No!" The Hylian warrior yelled as he ran towards the woman, knocking her out of the tree and causing the pouch to fall out of her hand.

***

Setsuka and the daemon fell towards the poisonous water of the swamp.

'_Well, if I'm going to die, at least I'm taking this daemon with me.'_ Setsuka assured herself.

Much to Setsuka's surprise, gold colored wings appears on the daemon's boots, allowing him to fly. The daemon put his arms around Setsuka and carried her across the swamp to dry land, where he set her down.

'_He just saved me. Why?_'

Setsuka barely had the energy to stand. Her battle against the daemon had drained most of her strength, plus the fumes from the swamp had temporarily paralyzed her. Setsuka just couldn't believe the Daemon saved her. The murderer of her father had saved her.

***

"Are you done?" Link asked the woman in an annoyed voice. The fumes of the swamp had also affected him. Because his sense of smell was better than the average person's, the fumes should have had an even greater effect on him, but his body was more than strong enough to handle the gases and even the water (for a short period of time).

"You're exhausted and I haven't even broken a sweat." The Hylian informed. "Why did you attack me? Who's been manipulating you?"

"Manipulating?" The woman seemed confused. "I was told that you killed my father."

"Link? Kill your father? Please, don't make me laugh." Mitsurugi spoke, walking out of the trees with the rest of the group. "I haven't seen Link kill a person yet, even when they are trying to kill him."

"How can I believe you?" Setsuka questioned. "How do I know this isn't a trick?"

"I could have let you die in that poison, but I didn't." Link pointed out. "Tell me, what's your name and your Master's name."

"My name is Setsuka." The woman informed. "My master and adoptive father's name was Roku Marisakie."

Mitsurugi's eyes widened with shock. He had wondered why this woman's fighting style was somewhat familiar.

"Link, there is a fragment of Soul Edge near by." Talim stated. "I can sense it. Does this woman have it?"

"She did, but it fell in the water." Link explained. "No one can get it now."

As Link spoke, the swamp began to bubble furiously.

"Great, what now?" Taki growled, drawing her blade.

A giant octopus creature emerged from the swamp. Link recognized this creature as a giant Octorok, even though it appeared to be larger than most and had longer tentacles as well. Sitting on the Octorok was a frog about the size of Amy or Talim. The frog had razor sharp teeth. Its skin was orange with black stripes, and its eyes were yellow with the ability to glow in the dark. In the frog's hand was the shard of Soul Edge. The frog opened its mouth and swallowed the shard whole, causing a dark aura to cover its body.

Four ghosts appeared next to the frog. Each was a different color, purple, blue, red, and green. They were only about the size of a child and wore hoods under their glowing eyes. They each carried a lantern with a flame the same color as their bodies.

"What are those things?" Cassandra asked.

"That's a giant Octorok." Link pointed to the octopus-like monsters. "Those are Poes, spirits of the dead who are full of hate and vengeance. Don't know what other monster is though."

"Who cares? I say its time to put these things to rest." Mitsurugi growled, getting ready to fight.

"Be careful." Taki warned. "These things have a territorial advantage over us. Notice how they aren't bothered by the swamp's poison."

"You kill the Poes." Link suggested. "I destroy other monsters."

"I suppose with those flying boots of yours, you're the only one who can get close enough to that octopus to strike." Taki spoke. "Alright, good luck then."

The frog on the Octorok began to excrete a strange liquid out of its skin. The liquid began to take the shape of giant blobs of green slime. Using its magic, the frog pointed to Link and Setsuka, who was still next to him at the time. The blobs of slime flew towards the two warriors.

Knowing that Setsuka was too worn out to dodge the attack, Link quickly jumped into front of her with his shield raised, using the magic of the Hylian shield to protect himself and Setsuka. When the slime hit his shield, it burst into small droplets everywhere. Many of the droplets hit Link as he protected Setsuka.

Setsuka heard a sizzling noise when the liquid struck Link on his cheek.

'_Once again he saved me.'_ Setsuka thought. _'And this time he risked his life doing it.'_

Activating the magic of his Pegasus boots once again, Link flew towards the frog and Octorok. The four Poes tried to intercept him by flying towards him.

"I don't think so!" Taki yelled as she threw several cards with ninjitsu writing on them. "Daemon Sealing Spell Card!"

"Wind!" Talim called, as a tornado formed around the ghosts, trapping them. Taki's card entered the tornado and they exploded in flashes of light. Once the tornado vanished, the Poes were stunned from Taki's cards, allowing Link to fly past them without being bothered.

Once the Poes were no longer stunned, they flew towards Taki and Talim, angered by their interference. The purple Poe flew towards Taki while the rest flew towards Talim.

"I'll take care of these small fries." Mitsurugi assured the Wind Priestess as he lunged at the green Poe and slashed at it. The Poe avoided the Samurai's attack, but was now too distracted by him to attack Talim.

Realizing Link was coming for him, the frog used its powers to send several more balls of poisonous ooze towards Link, who dodged by flipping and somersaulting in the air. He wasn't quite as agile in the air as he was on the ground, which made dodging the attacks more difficult.

'_Alright, time for a new strategy.'_ Link though, taking out his crossbow.

Link shot an arrow covered in blue mist towards the slime. As soon as the air struck the green ooze, it froze solid and caused the ooze to shatter and fall into the swamp. Angered, the frog jumped up and down and pointed towards Link, sending more blasts of poisonous liquid in the Hylian's direction.

Taki faced the purple Poe as it made several duplicates of itself that flew around Taki, trying to confuse her.

"Oh please." Taki snorted, "Do you really think such a pitiful trick will work against a top class ninja?"

Taki drew her blade and slashed at the real ghost. "Fu Hei Ninja Slash!" The ninja cried out. Lightening surrounded her blade as she slashed at the ghost. Taki's attack also destroyed the lantern that the ghost carried, causing it make an eerie screech and vanish into nothingness.

Mitsurugi stood with his eyes closed. His Poe turned invisible and his attacks only went through the Poe unless it tried to attack him first. Mitsurugi knew the Poe would strike soon, and when it did, he would be ready.

Mitsurugi jumped into the air right before the Poe appeared where he had been standing and swung its lantern as a failed attempt to hurt him.

"Take this!" The samurai yelled, drawing his blade and sending a powerful blast of energy as he slashed through the air. The blast of energy struck the ghost, completely obliterating it and its lantern. Once the smoke was clear, all that was left was a pit caused by Mitsurugi's attack.

Cassandra and the others were having less trouble against their Poes. Their attacks phased right through the ghosts and caused no damage. The Poes flew into Cassandra's body, taking control of her.

"What the heck!" Cassandra growled, trying to fight against the red Poe as it tried to make her move against her own will. "Get out of my body! No one controls me, got it?!"

Cassandra and the Poe continued to fight for control of her body. Cassandra was able to control her body enough to stop herself from moving, causing a stand still between her and the Poe.

"I said get out!" Cassandra yelled as the ghost flew out of her body, temporally paralyzed and in a solid form because of its loss of wills against the Athenian woman.

Yun-Seong and Talim quickly took this as their chance to strike. Yun-Seong attacked the ghost's body while Talim attacked its torch, realizing that was where it kept its soul. Once they were done, the ghost was gone without a trace.

"Three down, where's the other one?" Mi-na asked.

"Mi-na! Behind you!" Raphael warned as the final ghost appeared behind the unexpected Korean woman.

Setsuka quickly gathered the rest of her strength and lunged towards the final Poe, destroying it with her sword and causing it to vanish.

"Thanks." Mi-na thanked the woman. "But don't think that will make up for attacking Link."

Link shot two more ice arrows at the slime, but since his bow could only shoot three arrows before he had to reload it, it ran out as another ball of slime was coming in his direction. Link drew a Deku nut out of his pouch and threw it at the ball of slime. The Deku nut and slime both exploded, and the Deku nut caused a quick flash of light to occur, temporarily blinding everyone.

The frog monster covered his eyes from the flash of light, but when he removed his arm from his view, Link was gone. The frog monster began to spin around looking for Link, but the warrior was nowhere to be found.

Link had wasted no time positioning himself above the frog monster, knowing the flash of light only blinded a person for a second or two. The Hylian drew an arrow out of his quiver and placed it on top of his crossbow and pulled back the string. As soon as he had, the arrow vanished, magically loading the cross bow so that Link could fire more arrows.

"Above you." Link called down to the frog monster. It looked up towards Link with a puzzled look on its face.

Link released another arrow towards the frog monster. This arrow had fire around it and as soon as it struck the frog, it burst into flames, setting the frog on fire. The frog let out a cry of pain and jumped fell off the Octorok and into the water. Link fired two more fire arrows at the giant Octorok, incinerating it with his magic arrows.

Link flew down next to his friends and fell to his knees as his boots went back to normal. Using magic arrows was child's play to him, but using his Pegasus boots was a completely different story. They were one of his newest items and he didn't use them much, so he wasn't used to the high amount of magic that they drained from him.

"Well done, Link. You showed those monsters a thing or two." Raphael congratulated. "But are you O.K.? You look a little winded?"

"I'm fine." Link assured. "Just tired."

"Well, I'd imagine." Raphael chuckled. "You had quite the day."

"That frog, it's still alive." Talim warned, as the frog monster dragged itself out of the water, using the last of its strength.

The frog then spit up blood and two shards of Soul Edge. Without the shards, the monster turned back into a normal frog and fell to the ground, dying.

"The shards! So that's what turned the frog into a monster." Taki spoke.

"Truly an instrument of pure evil." Raphael agreed.

"That poor thing." Talim subbed, kneeling down to the frog to pick it up.

"Don't touch it!" Taki quickly ordered. "Even though it doesn't have the shards in it, its color indicates that it could still be poisonous."

"But, what if it dies." Talim wined.

"Oh come Talim, it's a frog." Yun-Seong cut in. "It doesn't matter.

"You would say that!" The wind priestess yelled at the Korean teenager. "It may be a frog, but it still had a life, and it was innocent until a shard of Soul Edge got implanted in its body."

"You're right, Talim." Link agreed, walking up to the frog as he pulled out a blue cane. Link lowered the cane, pointing it towards the frog as it began to glow. The frog's wounds suddenly vanished and it jumped up, seeming to be revived.

"Link, you did it!" Talim cheered.

The frog looked at Link and croaked, seeming to thank him jumped back into the swamp, which seemed to have become clean again once the frog reverted back to normal.

"It appears Soul Edge cursed that swamp, and now without it influencing that frog, it has returned to normal." Taki explained.

Link once again fell to his knees, panting heavily for not giving his body enough time to recharge before he used a healing spell. Luckily, healing a frog was easy since it was small and had much less life force than a human would have.

"I don't get it, why did Link waste energy healing a frog?" Yun-Seong asked.

"I believe it is because Link believes that all life is precious." Raphael explained. "Something only has one life and once you decide to take it away, you can never turn back from that decision. That is why Link is so cautious about killing. He realizes the consequences of such a great act and realizes that no matter how small a thing is, it still has only that one life, and that one chance to live before it dies. That is why he believes all life is precious."

Amy looked at her father with both suspicion and surprise. This was not the Raphael that she knew. The Raphael she knew saw people as disposable pawns whose lives didn't matter as long as he came closer to his goals, the goals he claimed were for Amy and yet she had little idea of what these goals were.

"Am I right, Link?" The French nobleman asked.

Link nodded in agreement, he couldn't have said it better himself.

"Well, I guess it is clear that you couldn't have killed my Master." Setsuka spoke, turning to walk away from Link and the rest. "I apology for my actions. I will also tell you this much. The person who told me that you killed was a tall man completely dressed in white. He claims to be a priest that hunts daemons and was the one who gave me the shard, claiming it would help me kill you. I wish I could tell you more, but that is all. I suspect he is the one who killed my Master, and he must want you dead as well, Link. No matter though. Don't worry, I plan to hunt him down and make him pay."

"Boy, I find it hard to believe that you were that fool's daughter." Mitsurugi grumbled.

"What was that?" Setsuka shot the samurai an angry glare.

"Roku Marisakie was your father, right?" Mitsurugi questioned.

"Yes, what of it?"

"I knew him. We were sort of rivals, I suppose you could say. We fought on opposite sides more than once during wars. He had quite the foolish set of beliefs. He claimed he would only draw a blade to protect ones he loved and refused to fight me when I challenged him to a duel. Once, he refused, saying there was no need for us to fight over who had more honor."

"Mitsurugi is saying revenge is bad." Link stated the samurai's in a simple context. "Consumes soul, turning you evil and become like Poes we fought. Would your master want that?"

Setsuka stopped to think of her Master's favorite lecture. "I did not teach you this art for the purpose of revenge...One who lives by the sword harbors no regret."

"I suppose you are right." Setsuka agreed. "But still, what do I do now? I can't let my Master's death go unpunished."

"I will give that man's punishment to him." Link assured. "He must pay for crimes, but with justice. You go home. I deal with him when he shows himself."

"Link is right." Taki spoke. "This man seems to be interested in Link. He'll show himself again and when he does, if Link doesn't kill him, Misurugi or I will. He is obviously a very evil and dangerous person and must be stopped at all costs."

"I suppose you're right." Setsuka sighed.

"What will you do?" Link asked.

"I guess I have no choice, but to go home. My Master wouldn't want me to turn my blade into an instrument of death. I will leave this battle to you, Link. And with that, I wish you good luck."

Setsuka walked into the swamp and disappeared into the mist, leaving Link and the rest to make their way back to camp. Once everyone had settled down, Taki began to speak with everyone else.

"All right, I want everyone to please listen to me for awhile. Whoever is behind the recent attacks on us is most likely the same person. He knows who Link is and obviously knew how to find him. What makes him the most dangerous is the use of the shards. Nearly everyone I have met becomes possessed by the shards and tries to use its powers for themselves. Yet, this man seems to be able to give shards away and use them strategically to get rid of Link. We have no idea how many shards he has and how he plans onto use them. I want everyone to be careful and to stay in groups from now on. Now get some sleep. We'll need some rest in the morning."

"Taki, if you don't mind, I'll take the first watch." Raphael offered. "It's not sun down yet, so I can stay for an hour or two before I must leave."

Raphael and Taki had already explained about his curse, so there would be no suspicions. They all lay asleep. Raphael didn't dare make his move, knowing that both Taki and Mitsurugi had some sort of sixth sense that would awaken them before he could strike. Then there was Talim, whose wind somehow warned her of danger.

Raphael noticed Link was once again having a nightmare. He tended to have them quite a bit. Ever since he began to spy on the elf, he noticed that he suffered nightmares, and they seemed to occur more frequently. Was it possible that Soul Edge was trying to torture the elf in his sleep, or was something else doing this to him?

"No!" Link screamed, sitting up. The Hylian drew his sword as if ready to fend off some imaginary attacker.

Taki jumped back, worried that Link had just gone mad, but as the elf scanned the earth around him, he realized it had just been another bad dream.

"Link, is something wrong?" Talim perked up, awoken from the scream like everyone else.

"No." Link responded. He stood up and put his sword on his belt and walked over to a nearby tree to stare at the horizon.

"What did you wake us up for? Thanks a lot, freak." Yun-Seong groaned, only to be hit by Mi-na.

"Be nice." The Korean ordered.

"Go back to sleep." Link told everyone. "Nothing wrong."

Everyone seemed to do as Link said, with the exception of Talim. As the one who had known Link the longest and the best, she could detect there was something wrong. All she had to do was look into his eyes and she saw everything. What she saw terrified her though. Link's eyes…

They were full of fear. Never in Talim's time had she seen Link scared. Even when he faced death, he had shown nothing but courage in his eyes. What could have frightened the brave hero so much to cause him to cry out in his dreams?

"Link?" Talim began."

"I'm O.K., Talim." Link assured, even though they both knew it was a lie.

"If there is something wrong, you should tell me." Talim begged.

"Only bad dream." Link informed. "Go to sleep." Link ordered in a more assertive voice than usual.

Hurt that Link would lie to her, Talim laid back down, greatly worried about her friend.

Raphael stood and watched the conversation between Link and Talim, not wanting to interfere. He too had seen the look on Link's face and knew there was something wrong. It was obvious there was. Link noticed Raphael was staring at him and turned his back to the French nobleman so Raphael couldn't look into his eyes, knowing they always told his true emotions.

"I won't ask." Raphael assured. "We all have things we don't wish to share with one another. I trust you just as you trust me. But please, make sure not to stay up all night. You can't help anyone exhausted.

"I sleep soon." Link assured, as he took out his ocarina and began to play a song. It was a special song that was meant to heal the soul. He used the song to relax his own soul and hoped that it would give him pleasant dreams from now on.


	25. Chapter 24 A Short Time Together

Ch. 24 A Short Time Together

Yoshimitsu appeared in the middle of the road, analyzing the tracks of Strife's warriors. "They are not close, but I must hurry before I am too late."

*****

Strife's men continued to move towards Athens when the city came in view.

"Remember what the king said." The captain spoke. "Kill the woman's family and if anyone gets in the way, kill them too."

*****

A man with a beard and dressed in smith's clothes worked on the forge.

"Daddy, when is Mommy going to come home?" A small boy asked his father as he walked down the stairs.

"Patroklos, what have I told you about coming down here while the furnace is going?" The man lectured. "And what are you doing out of bed? The doctor said you're not allowed up."

"Sorry." The boy apologized.

The smith heard a bang on the door and began to walk up the stairs, followed by his son.

"Who could need something at this hour?"

Before the man could open the door, the door was kicked open by men dressed in armor and holding weapons.

*****

"So, you actually managed to survive." Strife snarled towards Siegfried.

"Correct, and I intend on making you pay for your crimes, Strife." Siegfried growled. "Tell me, why are you doing this? Have you gone under the evil blade's influence like so many?"

"Of course not!" Strife laughed. "I was like this before. All I care about is power and ruling the world, and that is all I have ever cared about. It took murdering my entirely family to do this, but it was worth it. And now that I have the perfect bride…"

"Sophitia is not going with you." Siegfried informed, keeping his tone dangerously low.

"Oh, and I suppose you're going to be her knight in silver armor, Siegfried? The great hero Siegfried has fallen for a damsel in distress, is that it?"

"I am no hero." Siegfried spoke, "And I have no intent on discussing this further with you."

"Then so be it." Strife growled, drawing his evil blade.

Siegfried drew Soul Calibur and prepared to battle the evil king. Even though the shards of Soul Edge undoubtedly made Strife much stronger than he really was, he didn't come close to owning the majority of Soul Edge. Because of this, Siegfried didn't plan on activating Soul Calibur's armor form.

*****

"Sheik, Sensei, what are you two doing here?" Kilik asked.

"Saving your butt, as usual." Edge Master informed. "So tell me, Sheik. About how many are there?"

"A hundred or so." Sheik counted.

"Shouldn't be much of a problem for the five of us."

"Attack!" One of the guards yelled.

Even though Sheik, Kilik, Edge Master, Xianghua, and Maxi were greatly out numbered, they were actually winning. Edge Master drew two blades, and with single strikes, took out numerous guards while blocking other's blows. Sheik jumped into the air and made several needles appear around him by magic, then launched them towards the guards using his mental powers. He killed about half a dozen and then landed and slashed at them with a whip that seemed to be made of pure energy. Xianghua and Kilik fought back to back, taking down any guard near them. Maxi drew a second nunchaku from his belt and took down one guard after another with his ninjitsu skills.

*****

Strife ran towards Siegfried and attacked the knight with his cursed blade, but Siegfried blocked the attack with his own blade. The two warriors stood in a dead lock, trying to push the other back. Lightening bolts shot out of the blades when the powers of Soul Edge and Soul Calibur collided. The ground underneath the two warriors began to crack as the walls crumbled. Siegfried looked at Sophitia, who was lying unconscious against a wall.

"Our blades are equally matched, Siegfried. You can't win."

"Please." Siegfried snorted. "I'm not even using my full power."

Strife swung his blade a few more times at Siegfried, who blocked the attacks with his own blade and retaliated, sending Strife flying backwards from a blow.

"Give up, now." Siegfried demanded.

"Give up? Fool! I will kill anyone who opposes me!" Strife roared.

Strife's eyes suddenly went blank as a blade was shoved through his back and then through his chest.

"I would have aimed for your heart, but I don't think you have one." Sophitia spoke from behind Strife. She had gained consciousness and was more than just a little pissed. The Athenian woman withdrew her blade from the evil king's heart as he fell to the floor.

Sophitia was still gripping her chest in pain from all the shards, but seemed to be handling the pain the best she could.

"Sophitia, are you O.K.?" Siegfried asked.

"I'm fine, Siegfried. It's just this many shards…it feels like someone's trying to kill me from the inside."

"Then you two don't mind if I take the shards?" Shadow spoke from behind Sophitia and Siegfried.

Sophitia and Siegfried quickly turned to see Shadow. Before the two warriors could react, the black-cloaked figure zoomed across the floor and grabbed Strife's blade.

"If plan on using that blade to revive Strife, then I warn you, we will attempt to stop you." Siegfried warned.

"What? Why would I use this blade to revive that fool? He was merely a tool who believed he was in charge, a man with foolish ambitions to rule the world. It's a good thing you stopped him, Siegfried, otherwise he may have become the perfect body for Soul Edge, and my Master really did not want that to happen."

"Master? I thought Strife was your master?" Sophitia spoke.

"Him? My master? Ha! I merely pretended to be his servant, gaining his trust while it was really me pulling the strings. Funny how such a manipulative man was a puppet to my Master."

"Then who is this master of yours?" Siegfried questioned.

"I'm afraid you'll have to wait to find that out. He doesn't want you to know quite yet. Anyway, good day to you."

Before Siegfried had a chance to stop the mysterious man, he vanished into mist.

Siegfried walked to Strife's blade and slashed it with his own, destroying it. Soul Calibur's power seemed to activate automatically as it destroyed the shards of Soul Edge.

"We should return to the others and make sure they're not dead." Siegfried spoke.

"Agreed."

*****

Xianghua, Kilik, Maxi, Sheik, and Edge Master had taken care of their opponents, with the exception of a select few who had pinned themselves to the wall, shaking in fear of the warriors they had just fought.

"Surrender now and we'll spare you." Xianghua informed.

The guards looked at each other and raised their spears towards the warriors.

"Sorry, but we'd rather die than be punished by His Highness for surrendering."

"You don't have to worry about that anymore." Siegfried spoke, walking into the room with Sophitia right next to him. "Strife is dead. Sophitia and I killed him."

"What?" One of the guards gasped. "Is it true that madman is finally gone?"

"Hurray!" The remaining guards began to cheer.

As the guards celebrated, they heard a war horn.

"What was that?" Xianghua asked.

"It was a war horn, but by who?" Siegfried spoke as he ran out to see what was going on.

A group of knights dressed in armor emblazoned with wolf head shaped carvings charged towards the city.

"That's Princess Hilde's army." Siegfried spoke. "I recognize their armor."

Siegfried ran out to the men, waving his arms, trying to convince them to stop their charge. "Wait!" Siegfried called out to them. "Strife is dead. This attack isn't needed!"

However, the men had no interest in Siegfried's words as they all charged towards him.

"Halt!" A female voice ordered.

Everyone stopped and saluted a single warrior in armor. The warrior appeared to be female, although her armor made it hard to tell. She was dressed from top to toe in silver armor with wolf head shaped carvings decorating the helmet, shoulders, gloves, knees, chest, and belt. In one hand, she carried a short sword, while in the other hand she carried a spear with a flag.

"Princess Hilde." Siegfried addressed formally.

"Siegfried." The princess spoke warmly. "Haven't seen you in awhile."

"I'm sorry if I worried you, but I told you, I prefer not to have any help. What are you doing here?" Siegfried asked.

"Yeah, but he got stuck with us anyway." Maxi commented, walking out of the palace, followed by the rest of the group.

Hilde looked up towards the group and there was a tint of anger in her eyes. "Oh, so I see you would rather travel with a group of mercenaries then my army."

"Technically, I'm a pirate." Maxi corrected. "And Kilik over there is a monk."

"I found Siegfried alone and convinced him to come with me in exchange for secret information about Soul Edge." Sheik spoke, half lying. "The people you see before you are all warriors who have fought Soul Edge in the past, which is why I gathered them. I decided if we wanted to defeat Soul Edge, those who have battled it in the past would have the best chance."

"I see. So you didn't find me as helpful then." Hilde replied.

For this mission, unfortunately not." Siegfried informed.

"So be it." Hilde shrugged, trying to act as this didn't bother her. "By the way, which one of you is Sophitia?"

"I am." The Athenian woman replied.

"I have urgent news for you. Strife sent a group of men to kill your family." Hilde informed.

"What? No!" Sophitia began to cry. "Rothion, Pyrrha, Patroklos…"

"Please let me finish." Hilde interrupted gently. "You don't need to worry. Yoshimitsu went to protect them, and he can destroy a whole quadrant himself."

"That's good to hear, but I should return. If my family is in danger because of me, I must make sure they are O.K." The Athenian warrior said. "Sheik, you wouldn't happen to know if I can find my sister nearby, would you? You seem to have some sort of power to find things."

"The wind says to go to Athens." Edge Master spoke for Sheik. "You will be needed there in the future."

"Very well. Thank you, Elder." Sophitia bowed to the old man. "I shall pack my horse and leave immediately. I hope my children are safe."

As Sophitia turned to leave, Siegfried stopped her.

"Sophitia, you know that if anything happens, you can come to us for help, right?" Siegfried asked.

"Yes, of course I do. And thank your for the assistance you have provided. I will always remember you, Siegfried."

As Sophitia prepared to leave, Hilde continued speaking with Siegfried and the rest.

"So, what are your plans now, Siegfried?" Hilde asked.

"We are going to train in those mountains." Edge Master spoke, pointing the mountains in the distance.

"We're what?" Maxi asked, surprised, but the old man seemed to be able to silence the pirate with just a glare.

"Very well. I will continue my campaign against the evil of Soul Edge." Hilde informed. "I will have one of my captains stay in this city to rule until the people can get back on their feet. I wish you luck on your journeys, Sir Siegfried. Do you still not wish to come with us?"

"I am sorry, but I would rather stay on the path I am already on." Siegfried smiled.

"So be it." Hilde sighed, walked away from the group. "Let me know if you change your mind."

Once Hilde and her men were out of earshot, Maxi spoke to Edge Master.

"We're not really going to train, are we?"

"Of course we are." Edge Master informed.

"But we don't need training." Maxi argued. "We're already tough enough."

"If you were tough enough, you would have been able to handle those past fights without Sheik's and my help. If you were tough enough, you would be able to defeat those men on your own. Besides, I would have expected you to desire to become stronger so you can destroy Astaroth. He is still on the loose, and do you not want revenge against him?" Edge Master smiled. The old man could be wickedly cunning and used Maxi's desires to his own advantage.

"Well, when you put it that way…" Maxi sighed. "Lead the way."

As the group traveled out of the city, Sheik whispered into Edge Master's ear. "I wish you wouldn't have encouraged him."

"That young man will have to learn eventually." Edge Master informed. "But right now, revenge is his only motivation, so we'll unfortunately have to use that to our advantage."

*****

Hilde prepared to leave as she tightened her horse's saddle.

"Stupid knight, acting like that with a married woman." Hilde grumbled under her breath. "You know if anything happens, you can come to us, right?" The princess mocked Siegfried.

"I sense jealousy in your voice." The princess's second in command and good friend informed.

"That's none of your business. Are the men ready?"

"Yes, your highness."

"Good, let our search continue."

*****

The bodies of the warriors littered the floor as Yoshimitsu stood in the house sheathing his blade after the battle. The smith was holding a hammer with his son hiding behind his back.

"I am sorry your boy had to see that." Yoshimitsu apologized. "These men were out to slaughter you and anyone who stood in their way. I suggest you get a stronger door and make sure to lock it."

The masked samurai spun around and vanished without a trace.

**Sorry for the short chapter. The next one will be longer. I would like to thank everyone for the nice reviews I've received so far. If it weren't for them, I probably wouldn't be inspired to finish this story. **


	26. Chapter 25 Deceptive Innocence

Ch. 25 Deceptive Innocence

"Where is that wind of yours leading us now?" Yun-Seong asked.

"I still can't believe we're following a girl who believes in following the direction of the wind." Cassandra muttered.

"It says we should go to Athens." Talim informed. "But I don't know where that is."

"Athens?" Cassandra almost shouted. "It wants us to go to Athens?"

"Is something wrong with that?" Taki asked in an accusatory tone.

"Oh no, of course not. Why would there be anything wrong with going to my home town?" Cassandra tried to lie, taking a step back. "Come on, it's this way."

Cassandra took a turn right and began to hike along a road.

"Um Cassandra?" Taki spoke.

"What is it?" Cassandra asked annoyed now.

"Athens is this way." Taki pointed in the opposite direction.

"I knew that." Cassandra informed, turning around. "I was just testing you, Taki, that's all."

"What's wrong with her?" Link asked Talim.

"Cassandra left home without her sister's permission and stole her sacred sword and shield that were supposedly made by Hephaestus." Taki explained. "When she gets home, she'll probably be in trouble and her sister is a much better warrior than she is."

"Taki!" Cassandra yelled. "You didn't have to tell him all that!"

"Ha! Cassandra's going to get her butt kicked when she gets home." Yun-Seong laughed. "I want to see that."

Mi-na grabbed Yun-Seong's ear and pulled on it.

"The same is going to happen to you when you get home, little boy." Mi-na mocked the teen.

"Ow! That hurts!" Yun-Seong whined.

"Come on, let's continue." Taki suggested, leading the way to Athens.

"How do you know so much about this area, Taki?" Raphael asked curiously.

"Cassandra and I were the ones who fought the original wielder of Soul Edge, Cervantes. She was gravely injured during the battle, so I had to treat her wounds. I carried her back to Athens. After that, I've never stayed in Europe and never returned to Japan."

"Why not?" Talim asked.

"I'm not exactly welcome there." Taki informed coolly, indicating the conversation was over.

After that, neither Taki nor Cassandra spoke much during the trip.

"Well, here we are." Cassandra stated as they approached a bridge. "Once we cross this bridge, the city is just ahead. You should see it. It is filled with temples of marble and the people there are so kind and peaceful. Oh and Link, hoods up."

"Thanks." Link responded, pulling his hood up so no one could see his ears.

"Can we stay with your sister and Rothion?" Taki asked. "Or are you still worried she's mad at you?"

"I already told you that I had good reason to leave. My sister paid her service to the gods and deserved happiness. Now butt out, will you?"

As everyone ventured into the city, Link noticed the spirit of a woman dressed in blue armor fly through the streets and then vanish. Surprisingly, no one else did saw hwe. That could have meant only one thing.

"Cassandra, are there temples nearby?" Link asked.

"Hundreds of them. Athens is known as one of the few cities that hasn't been taken over by Christianity yet. Why do you ask?"

"I'd like to visit those temples." Link informed.

"Sure, let's head to my sister's place first. I might as well get this over with." The Athenian woman sighed.

"Can I meet you back here?" Link asked. "I would like to visit the temples."

"If you're that eager, I guess that would be fine." Cassandra shrugged. "Just head north and enter the largest building."

"Thank you." Link ran quickly down the street.

"Should someone follow him?" Raphael suggested. "He has a tendency of getting into trouble."

"I'll go after him." Mitsurugi sighed. "That is what I'm here to do anyway."

"Very well." Taki agreed.

*****

Cassandra led the others to the place she called home. Her sister's house was slightly larger than the rest of the houses in Athens, indicating that she and her husband were wealthy. Taki recalled that Rothion was a blacksmith, even though she wouldn't have needed to know that. She could tell by looking at the house that a blacksmith lived in it.

"Hey Sis! I'm home!" Cassandra called, walking into the house without knocking. "Strange. I didn't expect it to be this quiet. I'm still waiting for furniture to be thrown at me."

"Oh, Cassandra! I see you have returned from your adventure." A man spoke. He walked up stairs that led to the basement. He was a large man with brown hair and a beard. He appeared to be middle aged and was dressed in a blacksmith's apron with soot all over his clothes.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I was a complete fool with leaving and all." Cassandra snorted. "So where's Sophitia? I'm waiting for a lecture like the good baby sister I am."

"She's currently gone." Rothion informed.

"What? Where did she go?" Cassandra demanded.

"Did you really think she would sit around while you risked your neck in the real world?"

"I should have known." Cassandra sighed. "So, how's Pyrrah and Patroklos doing?"

Rothion looked down with deep sorrow in his face. "It seems like since you and Sophitia left, we've had nothing but trouble. First, men arrived and tried to kill us under the orders of someone named Strife. Luckily, a masked warrior appeared and saved our lives. But that's not the worst that happened. In the middle of the night, a woman broke into our house. She somehow cursed both the children with a metal fragment. I have asked every doctor in town for their help, but none can cure the boys."

"Pyrrah, Parokols." Cassandra whispered, her whole body shaking with fury. Before anyone could stop her, the Athenian woman stormed out of the house.

****

Link ran straight to the temple, where he was stopped by two guards.

"Halt." One of the guards ordered. "No weapons allowed in the temple."

Link sighed. He handed the guards his sword, shield, and bag of items and quickly ran inside the temple.

The temple was just as grand as the ones in Hyrule, except there were many more statues in this temple. Unlike the Hyrule temples that worshiped the three goddesses and occasionally one of the guardian spirits, the Athenians seemed to worship dozens of gods. Link noticed that some of the statues were better cared for than others. One of the most elaborate statues depicted the woman he had just seen.

'_So she was a goddess. I thought so.' _

As Link looked at the statues, he felt a gust of wind blow against him as Zephos's voice spoke to him.

"Link, watch yourself. Trouble heads your way."

Link became instantly alert. Link then heard a girl sobbing and turned to see a girl a couple years younger than him with short blue hair and green clothes that were torn in several places. Link eyes gapped in horror, wondering what could have happened to this poor girl.

"You O.K.?" Link asked.

"No, I'm not." The girl sobbed. "I was attacked by some bandits and they tried… they tried… I got away, but I'm worried they're still chasing me. What if they find me and…"

"No worry." Link soothed. "No one will hurt you here."

"How can you say that? How can you be sure?"

"Because I won't let anyone." Link assured.

"Oh, thank you." The girl stopped sobbing. "You're so kind."

Without warning, the girl grabbed a giant metal ring and swung it at Link.

"Link, watch out!" Zephos's voice warned.

Link quickly jumped out of the way, narrowly avoiding it as it cut his tunic.

"Ah shucks, I was hoping to cut off your entire shirt. I heard you have quite the nice body." The girl giggled.

"What?" Link asked dumbfounded.

"I also heard you are a very good warrior. That pleases me. So far, all of the men I've met haven't even been worth my time. It's a shame I was asked to kill you. Oh, I know! Maybe if you behave yourself, Master will let me keep you as a slave. That would be so much fun! Wouldn't you like to be my little slave?"

"No." Link responded.

"In that case, I'll just have to make you." The girl lunged towards Link with her ring blade, swinging it madly. Link dodged the attacks, but without a weapon, he didn't know how he'd be able to defeat this girl. She was quicker and tougher than she looked. Plus, he didn't want to hurt her. She was probably just being manipulated like everyone else.

Link delivered a swift kick to the girl's stomach, causing to her stumble backwards. The girl quickly drew some powder out of her bag and blew it into Link's face. Link's body began to tremble as he fell to his knees, unable to move.

"I knew you were stronger that most warriors, so I made this paralyzing powder extra strong for you." The girl giggled. "Now, you're at my mercy."

The girl charged Link with her ring blade.

A woman with long blond hair wearing a white dress and lightweight armor jumped between Link and the girl and blocked the girl with a shield. The woman drew a short sword and slashed at the girl, who jumped and did a back flip in the air to avoid the attack.

'_Zelda?' _Link thought, looking at the woman. _'No, it can't be.'_ Link realized as he continued to watch the blond haired woman fight off the girl.

"For goodness sakes, we leave you alone for five minutes and you're already in trouble." Mitsurugi growled his sword in hand.

"Mitsurugi, what are you doing here?" Link asked.

"Keeping an eye on you. I would have been here sooner, but those damn guards wouldn't let me come in with my sword, so I had to fight my way through."

Mitsurugi dropped Link's gear next to him. "A warrior never gives up his weapons." The samurai lectured. "So, who are they?" Mitsurugi pointed to the two females who were fighting.

"I don't know." Link admitted.

As the battle progressed, the blond warrior gained the upper hand against the girl. She easily blocked the girl's blows with her shield and forced her back with her sword. The girl was easily beat as her weapon was knocked out of her hand and she fell to the ground.

"I will not have mercy on you this time, Tira." The blond warrior raised her sword to finish off the girl. Link quickly called upon his strength. He grabbed his sword and leapt between Tira and woman, blocking the blonde's sword with his own. Still under the effect's of the paralyzing powder and unable to catch himself, Link fell to the floor. This gave the girl just enough time to jump into the air and grab her weapon.

"Well, I'm impressed." Tira giggled. "You shouldn't have even been able to move. Thank you for saving me though. It was really sweet of you. I look forward to playing with you later on. Oh and Sophitia, I would be more worried about your children than me."

"What? How dare you threaten Pyrrah and Parokols!" Sophitia fumed.

"Bye, bye! I'll see you later." The crazy girl jumped out of the temple through a window.

"Who are you?" Sophitia asked the strangers.

"Link." The warrior replied.

"Why did you stop me?" Sophitia inquired.

"Shouldn't kill unless have to." Link informed.

"I know." The woman informed, helping Link stand and allowing him to rest on her as she assisted him to walk. Link noted that the woman seemed fairly strong considering the fact that most of his weight was on her and she had no problem moving. "Trust me, if you knew that girl, you would understand it was necessary to kill her."

"That was interesting." Mitsurugi snorted. "Link, you really need to just kill your enemies. That way, they won't come back."

"It doesn't matter now. We need to get him to my house where he can rest." Sophitia suggested.

"Sure, I guess." Mitsurugi snorted.

As the three left the temple, they saw Cassandra running to them.

"Sister, I'm back." Cassandra panted. "Link, what happened to you?"

"Cassandra, these men are with you?" Sophitia asked.

"Yeah. Well, at least Link is. The samurai just kind of follows us around."

'_Sister?_' Link thought. Of course, the resemblance was undeniable. The only difference was their hair length and Sophitia did look a couple years older. Their fighting styles were even similar, though Link could tell from Sophitia's fight that she was a much better warrior than Cassandra.

"Come on, let's get him to my house." Sophitia suggested.

Sophitia and Cassandra brought Link to Sophitia house and laid him on the couch. Taki, the only member with good medical training, examined him.

"So, it was orange powder she threw at you?" The ninja asked.

"Yes."

"Well, then you should be fine in a couple of hours." Taki informed. "Just get some rest and let the drug work its way out of your system. Please stop running away by yourself though, Link."

As Link rested, he overheard Sophitia and Cassandra arguing in the next room.

"So, what do you have to say for yourself, sister?" Sophitia argued.

"Me? What about you and those so-called gods our family worships?" Cassandra barked.

"What are you talking about?"

"What? No, I suppose Hephaestus wouldn't tell you. The gods refuse to talk to us once we decide to marry and have a family. While you were away, Pyrrah and Parokols were cursed by Soul Edge."

"What?"

"That's right, and after all you've done for those rotten gods."

Sophitia burst out the room and ran upstairs to her children room, followed by Cassandra. Link decided to follow them. The powder had nearly worn off and he was feeling better.

Inside Sophitia's children's' room, two young children laid in a bed. They were twins: one a boy and one a girl. Both had blond hair and blue eyes like their mother. They were pale and appeared to be running temperatures.

"Mommy?" The boy asked. He woke as his mother entered the room.

"Yes, Patroklos?" Sophitia asked, sitting on bed, next to him.

"Mommy, you're back." The boy greeted, both children jumped up and hugged their mother.

"We missed you, Mommy." The small girl whimpered.

"Yes, I missed you too." Sophitia spoke in a hushed voice. "But hush now. You two are sick and need your rest. But don't worry, I'm not going anywhere soon."

As Sophitia held her children, Cassandra noticed she was gripping the sheets of the bed with one of her hands.

"How could Tira have done this?" Sophitia hissed under her breath.

After Sophitia tucked her children in, she and Cassandra left the room and found Link standing in the hallway.

"Link, you're up." Sophitia greeted.

"I heard everything." Link informed. "I sorry."

"Oh, it's not your fault." Sophitia assured.

"I know, but I want to help." Link retorted.

"That's very kind of you, but I don't know what you can do." Sophitia sighed.

"I want to try to cure them." Link spoke, holding his blue healing staff.

"You think you can?" Cassandra asked, getting excited.

"Don't know, but I try." Link walked into the children's room. He had never tried to heal a curse like this before. He had healed people from curses in the past, but that was either by killing the thing that caused the curse or having a witch make a potion. He wasn't sure it would work. But he did know that his Triforce protected him from Soul Edge. Maybe if he channeled the magic of his Triforce into his healing staff, it might do something.

Link lowered his staff and pointed it towards the children as his Triforce mark began to glow. Link gritted his teeth as a golden light surrounded the staff and he directed its power toward the children. It took more energy out of Link than he had originally anticipated, and it didn't seem to be have a change in the children's condition. Finally, Link fell to his knees, panting.

"Sorry." Link apologized. "Couldn't help."

"It's O.K. Link." Sophitia assured. "You tried your best."

"Now what?" Cassandra asked. "If Link can't save them, I don't know who can."

Link felt a strange power. He looked around and noticed the energy was coming from the Master Sword. It was glowing, but for once, Link wasn't causing it. Link withdrew the sword and stared at it. It was trying to tell him something. Link stared at the sword, watching it pulse.

"Um, Link what are you…" Cassandra began to ask.

"Shh." Link listened to his sword's message. "Yes, I understand now. Thank you." He spoke to it in Hylian.

Link brought the glowing blade to the front of the bed and shoved it into the floorboards. A bright light flashed from the Master Sword, blinding Cassandra and Sophitia. Once the two sisters could see again, they noticed Patroklos and Pyrrha were cured and sitting up.

"Link, you did it." Cassandra cheered. "You lifted the curse."

"Mommy, we feel better now." The small girl informed.

Sophitia ran up to hug her children. She was tempted to hug Link, but refrained.

"Link, you don't know how much this means to me. Oh, thank you so much!"

However, Link wasn't smiling when Sophitia spoke. He had a slightly sad look on his face.

"Link, what's wrong."

"Didn't cure them." Link informed sadly. "Master Sword only protect them from curse. Curse comes from evil energy of Soul Edge. Master Sword repels evil energy. Master Sword only works in this room and only works as long as Master Sword stays in this room. If your children leave this room, they become sick again."

"But still, at least you're protecting them from getting worse, Link." Sophitia smiled. "If it weren't for you, who knows what would have happened to them."

"True." Link agreed.

"What will you do about a weapon?" Cassandra asked. "I know you can beat Yun-Seong with a bug catcher's net, but you'll need more than that against a real opponent. You know, Rothion could probably make one for you."

"No thanks. I carry extra swords." Link assured, reaching into his bag and pulling out a large sword.

The blade was almost as tall and as wide as Link. The Sword's handle was green with two fairy wings where the handle met the blade. The bottom pair of wings was green while the top pair of wings was purple. The edge of the blade was purple but the center was green with two black roses painted on each side. The blade was a work of beauty.

"Wow. Why don't you use that blade against your opponents?" Cassandra asked.

"Not as powerful." Link commented. Link then yawned. He had had a rough couple of days and hadn't given his body enough time to rest.

"You look tired, Link, and it's getting late. We should probably get some sleep." Cassandra spoke.

"Yes, you and your friends are welcome to stay here, Link." Sophitia offered. "It will be a little crowded, but at least you'll be indoors."

"Yes, thank you." Link thanked the woman. It was kind of funny. Even though Sophitia and Cassandra looked like sisters, they didn't act alike. Sophitia was so kind and gentle outside of battle while Cassandra was extremely aggressive and hot tempered.

Everyone piled into the house was a small problem, more so for the females than for the males because there were so many more of them. It was decided that the females would sleep in the guest bedroom while the males slept in the living room. Amy tried to object to this since she wanted to stay with Link, but Cassandra was able to convince her otherwise. Like always, Raphael had to leave during the night, making more room for the males, but it was still crowded.

In the middle of the night, Link had trouble sleeping. For once, it wasn't due to nightmares. He just didn't feel comfortable. To remedy this situation, the Hylian grabbed his blanket and went outside. He climbed the tree next to Sophitia's house and slept there. It was the perfect solution for the Hylian. He much preferred to sleep outside in trees than inside a house anyway.

*****

As Sophitia was preparing for bed, she noticed a flock of large black ravens outside her window.

"Tira." The Athenian hissed as she grabbed her weapons and ran outside. The ravens began to fly away from her, but she knew if she followed them, they would lead her to Tira.

Link, who had been awakened by the squawking of the ravens, looked down to see Sophitia running out of her house, followed by Cassandra.

"Oh, great." Link snorted, grabbing his gear. And his friends thought he got into a lot of trouble.

*****

Sophitia followed the ravens outside of Athens where Tira stood in a tree, waiting for the woman to arrive.

"Such a silly mother." The girl taunted Sophitia. "You fell right into my trap."

The girl jumped down from the tree and slashed at Sophitia, but the Athenian was able to block the attack with her shield and punch Tira in the face. Sophitia then tripped the girl and pointed her blade towards her throat.

"You are going to lift that curse you placed on my children." Sophitia hissed dangerously.

"What? Lift the curse? Silly, I can't do that. That curse is caused by my master's power. Only he can control it."

Sophitia stabbed at Tira, but the girl rolled to the side just in time to avoid the attack. Sophitia was in a fury and not thinking as straight as she usually did in a battle, causing her to make mistakes she normally wouldn't.

"You will lift the curse!" Sophitia screamed at Tira, as she kept the girl on the defensive, aggressively slashing at her. Tira jumped, barely able to avoid the woman's attacks.

"Oh, what's that matter, Sophitia?" Tira taunted. "Surely you can't blame me for all of this. It wasn't my fault your children were left alone and defenseless. I figured you would have been around to protect them. After all, what kind of mother leaves their children alone when someone like me is around? This is your fault really, you awful mother."

"Shut up!" Sophitia roared, charging toward Tira.

A man wearing a black cloak and heart-shaped masked flew in front of Tira as Sophitia attacked. Sophitia's blade bounced off the masked figure as it raised a barrier around himself.

"What?" Sophitia gasped.

"Tira, leave." The masked man ordered.

"Oh, but Master! I want to see her bleed. This is what I've been waiting for."

"Leave." The masked man ordered again. "If you're good, I'll bring her and the elf to you alive."

"Oh, goody." Tira giggled, disappearing into the darkness.

"And who are you?" Sophitia growled.

"They call me Majora." The masked man informed.

"So you're the one who is responsible for my children's illness?"

"Yes."

"Then it will be you who fixes that curse."

"You humans are such fools." The eyes on the mask began to glow and Sophitia grasped her heart and fell to her knees as she felt the power of Soul Edge.

"You humans are such humorous creatures." The masked man laughed.

"Sophitia!" Cassandra cried, running over to her grimacing sister. "You bastard!" Cassandra roared.

"Interesting." The masked man stated, turning to Cassandra. "Your appearance, your soul, you have the power to repel evil. Of course, you're not nearly as strong as the elf, but I suppose I should eliminate you before you become a potential threat." A powerful red beam of energy shot out of the mask in the direction of the two sisters.

"Cassandra! Save yourself!" Sophitia spoke, gasping for air.

"Hell no!" Cassandra assured. "I'm not backing down." Cassandra raised her shield to the blast.

Before the blast could connect with Cassandra, a blue, diamond-shaped barrier formed around Sophitia and Cassandra, protecting them from the flames.

Everyone turned to see Link running towards them. The elf warrior held out his blade as blue electricity surrounded it, followed by gold electricity. The black rose designs on Link's blade absorbed the energy and began to glow a gold color.

"Black Petal Storm!" Link yelled.

A powerful tornado formed by black rose pedals burst out of Link's sword, heading towards Majora. Majora shot a blast of flames towards the storm of petals, but the tornado of rose petals was slowly able to push back the blast of flames. Link took chance to slash at Majora, cutting his body in half.

"What?" Link gasped, looking at Majora's shredded cape. Underneath the cape was not a body, but only a mask with several red whips made of what appeared to be hair.

"Impressive." The mask complimented. "It appears that even though the Great Fairy Sword can't repel evil as well as the Master Sword, it still has some unique abilities to it."

"So, you're the one who's causing all the destruction in this world." Link growled.

"You say that as if it's a bad thing. Inferno and I have been responsible for the majority of it, but we have had some competition as well."

Majora's Mask swung its whips towards Link, who jumped out of the way. As the whips hit the ground, they cut through it with ease.

"We'll play next time when I'm at full strength." Majora's mask spoke. "Good day."

Majora's mask flew away, leaving Link debating whether or not to follow.

With the mask gone, the pain left as well, and Sophitia was able to rise to her feet.

"Are you O.K.?" Link asked.

"Yes." The Sophitia assured. "I'm sorry for troubling you, Link."

"It's O.K." Link assured, looking up towards the sky. _'At least we know more about what we're dealing with. So the Legend of Majora's Mask is true. I guess I'll just have to destroy both it and Soul Edge to save this world.'_


	27. Chapter 26 Regained Memories

Ch. 26 Regained Memories

"Haha! Pinned ya again!" Xianghua giggled, lying on top of Kilik. "You know, for someone who thinks about training all the time, you lose to me a lot."

"Stop acting like you're better than me, Xianghua." Kilik grumped as the Chinese girl climbed off him.

"You're just mad." Xianghua teased.

"I am not." Kilik yelled. He turned his back to her, refusing to look at her.

"Ah, lovers squabble." Maxi snickered as he relaxed in the warm sunshine.

"Yes, that is what it appears to be." Edge Master walked out of the woods holding several pieces fire wood. He dropped them on top of Maxi deliberately.

"What was that for?" Maxi growled.

"Why aren't you training as well?" Edge Master inquired.

"Already did." Maxi pointed to pebbles that littered the ground. The pebbles had originally been boulders twice the size of a human, but after a few blows from Maxi's Rising Dragon of the Zodiac Kick, they were now reduced to pebbles and dust.

"Very good." Edge Master commented in a neutral tone. Lightning suddenly surrounded the old man's hand as he slammed his fist into the ground, causing more boulders to burst out of the earth.

"Now, you may continue." Edge Master commented. "Remember, concentration and a clear mind is the way…"

"Yeah, yeah, is the way to gather my Soul Chi, I know already." The pirate informed as he began his training again.

"As for you two." Edge Master spoke to the two Chinese warriors. "Stop arguing and start training. Now, attack me with all you've got. Let's see how much you've improved."

Edge Master's eyes glowed red as a dark aura surrounded his body. His skin and hair became as black as smoke as he transformed into what appeared to be a shadow version of himself.

Xianghua and Kilik drew their weapons and prepared to attack.

*****

Siegfried meditated under a cold waterfall with Soul Calibur in his hand while Sheik supervised.

"Am I done yet?" Siegfried asked.

"Yes. Your next lesson from Edge Master will begin soon so we better return."

"Finally." Siegfried was happy to leave the cold water and put his shirt on. "I still can't believe it's only been a week."

"I know." Sheik recalled. "Neither can I."

-----------------

_Edge Master led Sheik and the others towards the mountains where he could train them. _

"_So, how exactly did you two bump into each other?" Maxi asked Sheik and Edge Master. _

"_Edge Master and I have known about each other for some time, but never thought we'd actually have the chance to meet." Sheik explained. "I was investigating my theory about the dragon when I found Edge Master had taken some of its teeth and claws to make materials." _

"_Well, dragon fangs are harder than steel." Edge Master commented. "I made all my weapons out of dragon remains." _

"_So, what does our training require, Master?" Kilik asked. _

"_You need to master your weapons and techniques." Edge Master informed. "I'll go into more detail when we reach my home." _

"_You live up here?" Kilik asked. "Since when?" _

"_Since yesterday. Edge Master claimed, leading the way to his home, which was a three room cottage. "Built it myself." The old man bragged. "Now we can talk." _

_Everyone sat around a circle outside the house._

"_First, the reason I investigated the dragon was because I was curious about something." Sheik explained. "From what I heard, the dragon Siegfried killed was the only one in this world. That made me wonder how a dragon came into existence. Apparently, the dragon wasn't from this world. It was from the world of elves, as this world would call them." _

"_Most of the mystical items we use come from that world." Edge Master agreed. "Kilik, your holy stone is an example of that, not to mention the books on sorcery and alchemy." _

"_This makes me wonder where Soul Edge and Soul Calibur came from." Sheik continued. "I don't see how this world could possibly have the magical means to create such swords. As far as I knew, there was only one blade with that kind of power, and it wasn't Soul Calibur or Soul Edge." _

"_How is this going to help us?" Siegfried asked. _

"_It is always important to know as much about your opponent as necessary and about the tools you're using in battle." Edge Master lectured. "You're an ex-soldier, you should know that. But as far as your training goes, this next part is extremely important. Normally, I hate using magical weapons. It goes against my philosophies. However, to defeat something as powerful as Soul Edge, we'll need magic of our own. Kilik and Xianghua will train with me and learn how to repel evil with your weapons. Maxi, you'll perfect your Rising Dragon of the Zodiac Kick until you can kick through a solid boulder in a single blow. Siegfried, you will learn the art of meditation. You will learn to calm your mind and accept your past. Only through this training will you be truly prepared for what is ahead. Now get some sleep, tomorrow will be tough." _

"_Yes, Master." Both Xianghua and Kilik responded together, bowing. _

_The next day was as difficult as Edge Master had promised. He woke them early to begin their training. _

"_Sheik, I would like you to take Siegfried to the waterfall on top of the mountain to meditate. After that, I'm sure you know other good exercises for him." _

"_Very well, Edge Master." Sheik bowed. "Let's go, Siegfried." _

"_As for you three." Edge Master spoke. "It's time to sharpen your skills. Attack me at once." _

"_Master, are you sure?" Kilik questioned. _

"_Of course I am. Do you think I would have you do this if I couldn't handle myself? Now come on." _

"_O.K., you asked for it." Xianghua stated, as all three warriors attacked the old man. _

_Just as Edge Master had said, he was capable of defending himself from all three warriors. He began with nothing but his gauntlets, and then switched to the twin katanas he had sheathed across his back. The fight continued, until Xianghua, Maxi, and Kilik were too tired. _

"_Excellent. It appears you three are stronger than I thought." The old man complemented, tired from the fight as well. "We will take a rest and meditate before we continue our training." _

_*****_

_Sheik led Siegfried to a waterfall deep in the woods. The knight was forced to remove his armor and sit under a waterfall, shivering in his tunic. _

"_How is this going to help me?" Siegfried shivered. _

"_Your mind must learn to filter out unwanted feelings. To master Soul Calibur and finally find inner peace, you must be able to block your mind from unwanted stimulus. You must first be able to stimulate the undesirable motives from the outside world. When your mind becomes stronger, you will be able to stimulate your mind from the inside." _

_*****_

_While Edge Master, Xianghua, and Kilik meditated, Maxi fell asleep and began to snore. Edge Master smacked Maxi on the side of the head, waking him. _

"_What?" Maxi groaned. _

"_No sleeping." Edge Master growled. "Meditation is very important." _

"_O.K., I promise I won't do it again." Maxi promised. _

"_Here is your next task, Maxi." Edge Master began. Lightning surrounded the old man's hand as he punched the ground, causing several rows of rocks to burst out of the ground. "Use your Soul Chi to charge your attacks. When you can break one of them with a single blow, you will be strong enough to defeat Astaroth." _

"_Well, I guess I should get started." Maxi rose to his feet and ran towards the rocks. _

"_As for you two." Edge Master spoke to Xianghua and Kilik. "Time to practice your purification skills against me." _

_A dark aura surrounded the old man and he transformed into his shadow form._

_-------------_

Siegfried and Sheik arrived to see Edge Master sparring against Kilik and Xianghua. The two had already become better with their weapons as they fought against the old man. Xianghua blocked the old man's attack, and was able to keep her footing as he tried to push her back.

"Kilik." Xianghua yelled.

"Right." The young man nodded. "This is the end!" Lightening flowed around Kilik's body and into his staff, creating a red aura around the staff. The monk charged Edge Master and slammed his staff into the old man's back, causing him to revert to his normal self and fall to the ground.

"Master, are you O.K.?" Kilik asked.

"Yes, I'm fine." Edge master groaned. "I didn't expect you two to gain so much power this quickly. However, you must keep in mind it doesn't matter how powerful you are. If you truly wish to deliver a purifying blow to your opponent, you must be able to do so without injuring them. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to rest my wounds."

Edge Master walked to his house while Sheik and Siegfried approached the Asian warriors.

"You've improved." Sheik complimented. "In a few more days, you should be ready."

"Right, thanks." Kilik thanked the mysterious warrior.

Sheik yawned and stretched his arms. "I didn't realize how late it was." Sheik looked towards the half moon in the sky. "I'd say it would be wise to get some sleep."

Maxi finished destroying his final rock with his nunchaku. "Good idea. You guys go ahead without me. I'm going to get something to drink."

Maxi walked to his pack and pulled out a bottle of beer. The pirate's friends rolled their eyes and headed into the cottage as Maxi had his late night drink.

As the pirate finished his drink and was about to go to bed, he heard rustling in the treetops. The pirate looked up and saw a shadow moving along them.

"Something just doesn't seem right." The pirate grabbed his nunchaku and headed towards the figure's direction.

"Should have known it was you." Maxi growled at the figure when he discovered it was the crazy girl who served Majora and Nightmare.

"Well, if it isn't my favorite pirate." The girl giggled.

"Look girly; don't think I'm going to hold back because you're a female. I'm kicking your little psychotic butt." Maxi warned.

"But if you do that, who will give you information on Astaroth?"

"What information?" Maxi demanded.

"He's traveling here to attack you. Apparently, he wants to add you to his pile of killings, since your crew obviously wasn't enough for him."

Maxi's hands balled into tight fists. This girl was playing his emotions, but he was smart enough to realize it.

"However, I'm here to help you seek revenge on that loser." The girl giggled, tossing Maxi a large piece of Soul Edge.

"This piece of Soul Edge is stronger than most shards because it just recently came from the blade. If you use this shard, you'll be powerful enough to destroy Astaroth once and for all."

"And why would you be telling me this?" Maxi asked.

"Astaroth is a big jerk and no fun at all." The girl pouted. "I want him dead. That way, my masters will see I am superior to him. Astaroth is also using the fragments of Soul Edge to make himself stronger. That's why you couldn't defeat him last time."

"What?" Maxi shuddered. "Of course. I wondered why we couldn't defeat him last time. That freak is tough, but there's no way even he could have been able to win against all of us."

"That's right. So if you want the fight to be fair, you'll need power equal to his, but if you don't want to beat Astaroth, that's fine as well. You can just die. The choice is up to you, after all. Later!"

The girl disappeared into the brush before Maxi could respond. Did he tell the others about this? If he did, they would surely take the shard away. Maxi knew this shard could give him enough power to destroy Astaroth, but he also knew the shard was evil. For that reason, he decided to hide the shard from the others until he decided what to do. He wasn't stupid enough to use it, but he wasn't willing to give up his chance for revenge either.

*****

Kilik stood outside Edge Master's house faithfully. He could sense a strange presence lurking, and an evil force drawing near. The monk instantly crouched into a fighting stance.

"Relax," Maxi assured walking into the light. "It's just me."

"Maxi? Where have you been?" Kilik asked.

"Well, I drank beer and liquid makes you pee, so you do the math."

"Oh, right." Kilik nodded. "Hey, Maxi, are you O.K.?"

"Well yeah, why wouldn't I be?" The pirate asked.

"Oh nothing. I'll see you morning." The monk lay down, but couldn't sleep.

Maxi found a hiding place for the fragment that he hoped not even Edge Master could find. He had decided not to tell anyone about it yet. If Astaroth did arrive, he would use its power to assist him in defeating the monster. Maxi also knew that once Sheik found out about the shard, he would demand they destroy it.

******

Tira arrived to her Master's sanctuary where Majora's Mask and Soul Edge waited for her.

"You have done well, my servant." Soul Edge congratulated Tira. "I have already entered the pirate's mind to interfere with his better judgment. I'm impressed though. Most people would have been devoured by me by now."

"But that doesn't matter, because he'll for sure use the shard when Astaroth comes and then he'll be your new body, Master. Speaking of bodies, can I go after that elf again? I really want him as a slave."

"All in good time, my servant. He can be yours as soon as this mission goes according to plan."

"Oh goody!" The evil girl giggled.

******

Maxi and Kilik stood outside Edge Master's cottage and leaned against the wall, talking. The shard was on Maxi's mind. He felt guilty for not telling Kilik and Xianghua, though he didn't know why.

"Hey guys!" Xianghua called. She carried a bucket of water as she ran to her friends. However, she tripped on a branch. Maxi and Kilik quickly jumped away so they wouldn't get wet and watched Xianghua fall flat on her face. The water poured all over the young girl Maxi and Kilik began to laugh.

"Hey! You guys, that's not funny!" The Chinese girl fumed. "Especially you, Kilik!" Xianghua jumped up and pointed her finger in the monk's face. "You're supposed to catch a girl when she falls."

"Why?" Kilik asked. "It's your fault for being clumsy."

Xianghua could only growl as she stormed off and then turned and looked back at Kilik. "Hopeless, Hopeless, HOPELESS!"

After Xianghua ran into the woods, Maxi turned to face Kilik.

"You know, I think she's angrier about you not catching her than she is about getting wet."

"What? Why do you say that?" The monk asked.

"Well, think about it." Maxi pointed out. "She's always tripping and stuff when she's next to you, but I've barely ever seen her trip when you're not around."

Kilik's eyes suddenly widened. Xianghua hadn't tripped once during this journey, or at least not when he was around. However, on their first journey, when Maxi first met them, she had.

'_So, the dope's finally figured out what Xianghua's trying to do.'_ Maxi thought.

"Hey, Maxi, can you excuse me? I need to talk to Xianghua."

"Sure, no problem. Although I should warn you that she's probably…oh never mind."

"What?" The monk asked.

"Oh nothing. Go talk to her. It would be good to apologize to her."

"Umm…O.K…I'll see you later Maxi."

As the clueless monk headed into the woods, Maxi muttered to himself. "It would probably do him some good to see a girl in her undergarments."

*****

"Xianghua, Xianghua!" Kilik called until he came across Xianghua's white shirt hanging from a tree.

"Is that you, Kilik?" Xianghua asked as she stepped out from behind a tree.

Kilik spun around so his back was facing Xianghua, not wanting to invade the woman's honor.

"Relax, I'm fully dressed." Xianghua assured. "You know me. I've always got extra clothes lying around. Besides, it's not like you haven't accidentally stumbled upon me bathing before."

The monk turned pink in the face and kept his back turned so Xianghua couldn't see him blush.

"Umm, I've got some good news." Kilik quickly changed the subject.

"What's that?"

"I think Maxi is getting his memory back."

"He is?" Xianghua shouted, suddenly excited about getting the old Maxi back.

"Yes. Right after you left, he started saying things to me that only the old Maxi would know."

"Kilik, this is great."

"It is, but let's not celebrate yet. Hopefully, he'll be back to normal soon, but let's not try to push him to remember things."

"Yeah, good idea." Xianghua agreed. "Let's head back."

Xianghua was always quick to forgive Kilik of his cluelessness, especially when there were more important matters at hand. As the Chinese girl walked past Kilik, the monk couldn't help but admire the red Chinese-style shirt and dress she was wearing.

"Coming, Kilik?" Xianghua asked.

"Yea…I mean, yes, Xianghua."

*****

"Well, it took you long enough." Maxi snorted as Xianghua and Maxi approached. "Any way…" Maxi suddenly stopped in midsentence as the three warriors felt an evil presence.

"Jump!" Maxi yelled. They quickly jumped out of the way as Astaroth smashed down from the sky, nearly crushing the three warriors.

"I've been looking for you." The giant golem growled.

"Yeah, well, come and get me." Xianghua challenged, drawing her blade.

"There is no way that you can defeat all three of us now." Kilik informed. "Even if you do have the shards of Soul Edge."

"Is that so?" The golem laughed. "Well, prepare to die."

Astaroth struck his battle-ax into the ground, causing a large blast of flames to erupt from it and fire towards the three warriors, destroying everything in its path. The warriors jumped to avoid the flames and counterattacked the massive golem.

Even though Astaroth was more powerful than Kilik, Maxi, and Xianghua combined, they beat him in speed and skill. The three warriors were able to dodge his attacks, and now their training to control their Soul Chi allowed them to cut through his skin as if it was nothing.

Edge Master and Sheik watched from the top of an overhanging cliff as Kilik, Maxi, and Xianghua continued to battle the massive golem.

"Should I get Siegfried?" Sheik questioned. "He may be needed."

"No." Edge Master replied. "Let them do this."

"I sense a shard of Soul Edge nearby, and it isn't the ones in Astaroth's body."

"It doesn't matter." The old man replied. "If they can't win this battle, they will never be ready for what is ahead. Go to Siegfried and stop him from joining the fight. Soul Calibur has probably alerted him of Soul Edge's presence. Besides, if he's in danger, he may need your help."

"Very well, I will comply with your orders." Sheik agreed as he vanished in a puff of smoke.

*****

Xianghua dodged another swing of the giant's ax and cut off his left arm. The warriors jumped back.

"Why isn't he bleeding?" Xianghua asked.

"Simple. Astaroth isn't human." Maxi explained. "He's just made from spare rocks and shards of Soul Edge. Isn't that right, freak?"

"You'll pay for that!" Astaroth roared, angered from his humiliating wounds and from the reminder that he wasn't human. "You'll pay with your lives!"

Fire surrounded Astaroth's body and expanded, destroying everything in its path, as the golem began to grow and reach twice his size.

"Great, as if being over six feet tall wasn't big enough." Maxi snorted.

"It's the shards." Kilik pointed out. "They're making him stronger."

"Well, let's finish this." Maxi suggested.

"Right." Xianghua agreed.

Maxi charged Astaroth and smashed his bow-staff against the giant's legs, causing them to crack.

"Here I go." Xianghua announced, jumping into the air and landing several thrusts into Astaroth's body with her magical blade.

"Rising Dragon of the Zodiac Kick!" Maxi yelled, landing a kick in the giant golem's stomach and smashing through it, causing it to fall to pieces.

"That was too easy." Maxi yelled. "I don't see why we couldn't do that before." _'I didn't even have to use the damn shard.'_

"Wait, something's happening." Xianghua announced, looking at the shards of Soul Edge. The shards in Astaroth's body began to glow as the golem began to put himself back together.

"It's the shards; they're allowing his body to recover." Kilik proclaimed.

Fire surrounded Astaroth's regenerating body, transforming back into his original form, ready for more.

"Is that all you've got?" The recovered golem growled. He prepared to fight again.

"Damn it! What does it take to kill this guy?" Maxi growled. Maxi charged towards Astaroth, only to be struck by the golem's massive ax. The pirate flew backwards into Edge Master's hut.

"Maxi!" Xianghua cried.

"That bastard." Maxi groaned as he noticed his piece of Soul Edge lying on the floor next to him. "I didn't want to use this, but it looks like I need to fight fire with fire."

Maxi grabbed the shard and infused it with his weapon, transforming his nunchaku into a weapon made of both metal and skin.

"He's got a shard." Xianghua commented.

"Maxi, what are you doing?" Kilik called.

"Making sure I get my revenge on this freak." The pirate exclaimed as a red aura began to surround his body. Maxi vanished and then reappeared behind the golem. He kicked the golem in the back, causing it to skid several feet forward.

"Did you see that?" Xiangua asked.

"Yeah, he's moving so fast, it's hard to keep up with his movements." Kilik proclaimed.

Maxi dodged several of Astaroth's attacks and stuck him with his nunchaku, causing his stone skin to crack with every blow.

"Now to finish you off, freak!" Maxi yelled. "Finally, I will have my revenge for you massacring my crew! Rising Dragon of the Zodiac Kick!"

Maxi kicked through the golem's body once again, causing it to shatter into several pieces. The pirate's nunchaku began to glow as the shards of Soul Edge were absorbed into the nunchaku.

"Well, at least that freak won't be able to recover. Now to throw away this blasted weapon and get a new one."

Maxi tried to throw his nunchaku out of his hand, but found his hand wouldn't let go of the weapon.

"What the heck?" Maxi growled. He tried to yank the weapon out of his hand, but his other hand wasn't cooperating and refused to release the weapon.

'_Did you really think you would be able to get rid of me so easily?'_ A voice boomed in Maxi's head.

Maxi gripped his head and fell to his knees.

"Maxi!" Xianghua cried.

"Soul Edge is trying to take over his body." Kilik commented. "Maxi, can you hear me? Get rid of the shard as quickly as possible."

"I'm trying." Maxi hissed, still gripping his head. "Damn it! I thought I could control the shard of Soul Edge long enough so I could kill the freak, but that little shit must have done something to the shard to make it act more powerful than the rest we've run into."

'_Right you are.'_ Inferno's voice boomed inside's Maxi's head. _'And now that you have fallen for our trap, I will take you as my new body. Together, we'll be invincible.'_

Maxi released a roar of pain as he began to shake his head violently.

"I don't think so, bastard! Now get out of my head!"

"Kilik, perform a purifying blow on Maxi." Xianghua suggested.

"No! If I screw it up even the smallest bit, Maxi's life would be lost."

"Do it." Maxi ordered.

"What? But Maxi…" Kilik began to protest.

"Hey, did you really think I'd do something this stupid without a backup plan? My crew's vengeance has been served. There's nothing left for me to do. Now hurry! Before I lose control of my body, take me and this evil spirit down."

"Maxi." Kilik suddenly figured it out. "I know you don't remember this, but when we first met, you saved me from the powers of Soul Edge. This time, I will do the same for you."

Maxi's hair suddenly turned from black to silver and his eyes turned red.

"Hurry." The pirate yelled as he charged towards his monk friend and tried to punch him. Maxi was able to restrain himself enough to slow the punch so Kilik could dodge it.

"I don't have much time left." Maxi warned.

Maxi threw several more punches and a kick at Kilik, but the monk was able to dodge or block the attacks and jump away from the pirate.

"Kilik, what should we do?" Xianghua asked from the side lines.

"You don't do anything." Kilik told the Chinese girl.

"What?"

"Xianghua, this is my fight right now. I'm the only one here who can purify Maxi, and I swear I'm going to."

Kilik ran towards Maxi and began to fight back. Maxi still had enough control over himself to slow his blows, but his attacks were beginning to become more violent. Kilik continued to dodge and block. He tried to trip Maxi, but the pirate jumped over the attack. The monk then struck the pirate in the stomach with the edge of his staff, causing the pirate to skid backwards.

Maxi took his chance to use all the strength left in him to hold his weapon towards Kilik so the monk had a clean shot at it.

"Kilik quickly now." The pirate instructed. "Strike my weapon while you have the chance. I don't know how long I can control myself."

"Right." The monk's power pulsed through his staff, causing it to glow and then he charged towards his friend.

'_What are you doing?'_ Inferno's voice boomed in Maxi's head. _'He'll kill you.' _

"At least I'll take you with me." Maxi grunted.

Kilik pierced through the chain of Maxi's nunchaku and struck the pirate in the stomach. Maxi's shattered weapon dropped to the ground as the pirate collapsed.

"Maxi, Maxi!" Xianghua cried, running to her friends. The Chinese girl bent down and felt for a pulse.

"Kilik, he's not breathing." Xianghua cried. "We need to help him!"

"Right." Kilik agreed. He opened Maxi's mouth and was ready to give mouth to mouth only to find Maxi's fist in his stomach.

"Damn it, Kilik!" Maxi swore. "I told you this the first time. If anyone is going to breathe life into me, it needs to be a hot girl. And in the rare case you can't find one, Xianghua will do."

"Maxi, you're alive!" Xianghua screamed. She threw her arms around the pirate's neck. "Wait a minute. What was that about me not being a hot girl?" Xianghua jumped back up and began to roll up her sleeves, preparing to make the pirate wish he was dead.

"Xianghua, hold up." Kilik suggested. "Maxi, when did you say that?"

"Oh, come on, you remember. We had just finished taking down a large group of lizardmen and their leader, and I was badly injured. Then you were dumb enough to give me mouth to mouth. Hey wait a minute; I didn't remember that until a couple of minutes ago. In fact, I suddenly remember a lot of things about you tow. Kilik, my friend, do I have black mail material on you! Come to think of it, you have some good stuff about me to, so I better not say anything."

"He's back! The old Maxi's back!" Xianghua cheered.

Xianghua hugged Maxi again while Kilik put him in a headlock and began to give him a noogie.

"Ouch, not the hair." Maxi grunted. "You know how much I hate it when you touch my hair."

"So, I see everything turned out after all." Edge Master spoke as he approached.

"Master, were you watching us?" Kilik questioned.

"Of course." Edge Master chuckled. "Did that foolish pirate really think he could sneak a shard of Soul Edge around without anyone realizing it? I had a feeling this would happen, and I was correct. Since Inferno tried to enter Maxi's mind, he also unlocked Maxi's hidden memories, and Kilik managed to nearly master his purifying blow. You still need work on it though, because that much force would probably kill a normal person."

"So that was why you didn't want me to interfere." Sheik spoke, walking up to the group with Siegfried behind him.

"Interfere with what?" Siegfried asked, utterly confused.

"We'll explain later."

Xianghua began to scan the ground. "Does anyone know where Maxi's nunchaku went? It had several pieces of Soul Edge in it, so we might want to do something with it."

"I don't see it." Kilik spoke looking around as well. "Is it possible it was destroyed when I struck it?"

"I doubt that is the case." Edge Master admitted looking towards the mountain. He glimpsed a white-hooded figure holding the shattered remains of Maxi's nunchaku. He used a spell to slip by the others while they weren't paying attention.

*****

The next morning, Siegfried was informed of everything as everyone began to pack.

"So, Maxi almost made the same mistake as me." Siegfried spoke.

"Yes. Luckily, Kilik was around to save him. However, I have a feeling Edge Master had a backup plan, just in case." Sheik commented. "Let's go."

Sheik and Siegfried found the others outside and ready to go.

"I would like to teach you further." Edge Master commented. "But we just don't have time. This is where we find separate paths for now, but I do hope we'll meet again. Head towards Athens. There you will find what you need to complete this mission. I will see you later."

Edge Master tossed a Deku nut onto the ground, causing a quick flash of light and a puff of smoke. The light and smoke caused everyone to blink; but within that moment, Edge Master vanished.

Once Edge Master had vanished, Maxi began to creep towards his house.

"Maxi, what are you doing?" Xianghua asked in an accusatory voice.

"Simple, that old guy has to have something of value to steal. I need a new weapon."

"Maxi, I highly object. That's my Master you're stealing from." Kilik lectured, chasing after his friend.

"What? I am a pirate after all, or are you the one with amnesia this time?" Maxi teased as he ran off, followed by everyone else.

*****

The white-hooded figure continued his walk through the forest only to find Edge Master blocking his path.

"Should have known you'd notice me." The white-hooded figure spoke. "Are you going to try to stop me, old man?"

"It is no longer my place to do so." Edge Master informed. "However, I will tell you this; I know what you're planning and you will be stopped by the Hero of Time."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, it is." Edge Master threw another Deku nut and vanished.


	28. Chapter 27 Taki's Past

Ch. 27 Taki's Past.

Sophitia knocked Cassandra down with a blow to the face using her shield. The two sisters had been sparring all day and the results had been the same with each battle. Cassandra hadn't managed to land a single blow on her older sister, and Sophitia had been ruthless, a trait no one knew she had.

"Had enough, little sister?" Sophitia mocked. "Or do you wish to prove yourself some more?"

"Wow, Sophitia is really good." Mi-na commented as she, Talim, Yun-Seong, and Taki watched from the sidelines.

"Yeah, it's nice to see Cassandra get her butt kicked." Yun-Seong laughed. "I bet you're enjoying this too, Talim."

"No, I'm not." Talim replied. "I don't like seeing anyone hurt, even if it is someone I don't care for. I feel bad for Cassandra. Why is her sister being so violent? She seemed so nice and gentle when we first met her."

"It is quite obvious that Cassandra didn't stand a chance from the very beginning." Taki began to explain as she watched Cassandra try to pull herself back up and fight her sister. "However, she is bound and determined to prove to both her sister and herself that she can survive on her own and that she is a true warrior. Sophitia realizes that even though Cassandra has improved greatly because of her training with Link, she still has a long way to go. They are battling to decide who will stay here and who will go with us."

"Well, I personally think Cassandra should stay." Yun-Seong blurted. "Sophitia's a much better fighter, nicer that Cassandra, and better looking too."

"She's married, you idiot." Mi-na bonked the perverted teen on the head.

"Neither of them should come with us." Taki informed. "Cassandra isn't ready for this adventure, and her sister shouldn't leave either. Sophitia was always soft for a warrior, and I can tell she hasn't done much fighting lately. She probably hasn't had any real opponents since fighting against Cervantes. Plus, her old battle wound still gives her trouble despite my best remedies. If I was fighting either of them, they would be dead in seconds."

"Yes, but you can kill just about anyone within seconds." Yun-Seong pointed out.

"It doesn't matter. I know what is ahead of us and I have been able to analyze the difficulty of our previous battles. Trust me; it would be a bad idea for either of them to come with."

"Taki, who taught you all of this?" Talim asked innocently. "So far, we've learned about everyone's past except yours and Link's. Even Mitsurugi has spoken a little about his past. You're so smart and strong, surely you must have had a great teacher.

"My past isn't something that anyone should want to know about." Taki stood up and walked away from the group.

"What's wrong with her?" Yun-Seong asked Talim and Mi-na.

"I don't know." Talim admitted. "I wonder if I said something I shouldn't have."

Taki continued to walk around the busy town of Athens. As she walked across the bridge, she looked down into the water at her reflection.

*****

_An infant Taki lay abandoned in the middle of the forest, crying. She never knew her parents or how she managed to be left in the middle of the forest. However, as she cried, a ninja heard her and found her. The ninja bent down, picked up the crying baby, and cradled her gently. _

"_Sensei Toki, have you discovered the source of noise?" _

"_Yes. It is this baby." Toki announced. He was not yet the chief of the village, but a high-ranking officer and a friend of the current chief, Hachibei. _

"_We can't bring the child into the village. She is an outsider." One of the ninjas spoke. "The only solution is to leave her or kill her." _

"_I will not have any of that." Toki barked at the two lower-ranking ninjas, angered that they would even suggest those options. "I will bring her to Chief Hachibei and discuss what should be done from there." _

_Toki looked at Taki, who had ceased her crying now that she was being held by someone. _

"_That's right. There is nothing to cry about." Toki soothed the baby. "I sense great potential in you little one, great potential indeed."_

_*****_

'_I can't believe it's already been a year since that battle." _Taki thought, dwelling on the past._ 'A year since I killed my sensei. Well, it's not like I can turn back now. I wonder how Link is doing. Last time I saw him, he was reading Sophitia's children a story.'_

*****

"And so, the wicked King was sealed away by the hero and six sages, and the land was forever in peace. The end." Link finished.

He had been keeping Patroklos and Pyrrha entertained with stories. As long as the Master Sword was in their room, they felt much better and more energetic. However, because the children had to stay near the blade for protection, Link kept them company and tried to entertain the children with stories and tricks. This also allowed him to practice his English. Sophitia had taught her children very well, but since they were so young, they often bluntly corrected Link if he made a mistake in his English.

"What happened to the hero? Did he marry the princess and become a king?" Pyrrha asked.

"No." Link chuckled. "He actually decided to live the rest of his days as a farmer in a small village."

"How come?" The small girl asked.

"Well, the hero didn't want to be a king. He wanted to live a simple life with ordinary people. Besides, the princess and he were just really good friends. They didn't see each other in a romantic way." Link explained.

"Is this story really true, Mr. Elf?" The girl asked.

"Well, some things may have been changed here and there." Link admitted.

"Can you tell us another story?" Patroklos begged.

"Sorry, but I'm afraid its time for you two to take a nap. I'll see you when you wake up."

"O.K. Mr. Elf." The children agreed.

Link walked out of the children's room and closed the door quietly. He noticed Amy sitting against the wall.

"Oh hello, Amy. If you wanted to listen, you could have come in." Link offered.

"I'm fine. I'm too old for bedtime stories, anyway."

"If you say so." Link spoke, sitting next to the girl. "Where is your father?"

"He's gone, like always." Amy commented.

"Oh. I am not busy. Do you want to do something?"

"Can we practice ocarina?"

"O.K. I will get my music."

Link and Amy sat in the living room while Link taught Amy some new rhythms and songs. As they were practicing, they heard the door close and someone walk into the house.

"Maybe Cassandra is home and will join us." Link hopped.

"If she comes home, she'll be in no shape to do much." Taki spoke, walking into the house. "Sorry, just ignore me. I need to change."

Taki walked into a back room as Yun-Seong walked into house, followed by Mi-na and Talim, who were supporting an unconscious Cassandra.

"Hey Yun-Seong, why don't you be a gentlemen and help us?" Mi-na hinted.

"Because I just wanted to keep her face in the dirt." Yun-Seong responded.

Link immediately rose from the couch to carry Cassandra to the couch.

"What happened?" Link asked worriedly.

"It turns out Sophitia is a lot meaner when fighting against Cassandra and is an extremely good warrior." Mi-na explained. "And Cassandra just didn't know when to quit."

"Where is Sophitia?"

"Rinsing off." Talim spoke.

"Well, I hope I don't have to treat her." Taki spoke as she came out of the room dressed in a satin red kimono with a blue ribbon sash tied in a large bow in back. "I don't feel like getting blood all over my kimono."

"Wow." Yun-Seong gawked at the nicely dressed ninja. "Holy crap, Taki! You look so nice! To think, I almost forgot you were a woman."

Link couldn't help but turn slightly pink at Taki's appearance. He was so used to seeing her in a battle uniform that it was a nice change to see her dressed up. In fact, everyone was shocked at the ninja's beautiful face.

"Really!" Taki growled out in anger. "Can't I dress normal for one day without everyone staring at me?"

The ninja stormed past Yun-Seong and slammed the door on the way out.

Mi-na quickly slapped Yun-Seong on the top of the head.

"Ouch! Hey! What was that for?" Yun-Seong

"For saying something stupid." Mi-na commented.

"Still, it's not like Taki to act this way." Talim proclaimed. "She's usually so calm."

"She'll be fine." Mitsurugi assured. He had been quietly sitting on the floor drinking tea after his early morning training. "Taki always gets attention when she dresses nicely. She's just a little pissed."

"O.K., if you say so." Talim sighed. "Mitsurugi, you've known Taki for a long time, right?"

"Well, of course. We're archrivals." The Samurai commented.

"Well, what do you know about her?" Talim asked. "You must know about her past and how she became such a great warrior."

"I don't know the whole story. I pay more attention to my opponent's fighting and training style than their past."

"But you still know more than we do, right?" The girl hinted. "I know I shouldn't be asking, but she's been acting very distant today. I'm worried."

"Yes, I know, but I won't tell you." Mitsurugi informed.

"Why not?"

"Not my story to tell." The samurai informed, taking another sip of tea and doing his best to seem invisible to the rest of the group. _'She had a picture with her when she left. I wonder…' _

******

Taki found a peaceful meadow where she could be alone with her thoughts. The ninja set a picture of an elder male on the grass. She then set a candle on each side of the picture and lit them.

"I am sorry I have not visited you before now, Sensei. I planned to visit your grave, but as you see, things have occurred. I don't know if you would be happy with my life, Sensei. I've rid the world of nearly every daemon in existence and I am trying to make it a safer place, but I never inherited the clan like you planned. No one believed my story and the remaining members of our people still attempt to hunt me and kill me. That clan has fallen apart without a leader and soon our way of life will vanish. I'm sorry. I wish there would have been a better way."

Old memories began to return to Taki. She remembered when she was a child and still training.

*****

_Taki was just a girl, no older than ten years old. She was currently practicing her balancing skills. She was required to balance on the tiptoes of one leg while she kept the other leg pointed in front of her in the air. Meanwhile, a pot had to be kept on top of her head. Even the slightest motion would cause the pot to fall and she would have to start the exercise over. _

"_Don't tell me you're practicing again?" A boy just a few years older began to mock Taki. "Why do you even bother? You're an outsider. There's no way you'll become an elite ninja. The best you could hope for would be to become some sidekick." _

"_That's not true." Taki argued. "My father said that one day I'll inherit leadership if I train very hard." _

"_Like that'll ever happen." The older boy mocked. He kicked the back of Taki's leg and caused her to sway and lose her balance. Taki tried to catch her balance, but was unsuccessful. The pot smashed to the ground. _

"_See what I mean?" The boy continued. "A real ninja would have jumped over my kick while keeping the pot balanced and their leg in the air." _

"_That's enough, Geki." A middle aged man dressed in a blue ninja suit ordered. _

"_Chief Toki." The boy quickly bowed. _

"_Geki, as the top senior student in training, I expect you to set examples, not pick on other students! Is that understood?" _

"_Ye- yes, Sensei." The boy stammered._

"_Good, now go on before I decide to punish you." _

_The boy quickly ran away._

"_Sorry I was unsuccessful, Sensei." Taki apologized. _

"_No need." The master assured. "You have good balance, so it is time for me to teach you a new technique."_

"_Really?" Taki asked. "Sensei, did Geki speak the truth? Will I ever be a great ninja?" _

"_Taki, my dear, I believe that if you train hard, you will be the best ninja to ever exist."_

"_You mean even better than you, Sensei?" _

"_Yes, even better than me." Toki replied. _

"_Wow, then I'm going to train as hard as I can and make you proud." _

"_I'm sure you will." Toki chuckled. "Now, come along. After we finish training, maybe we'll go over to Sensei Hachibei's place and see your friend, Chie." _

_*****_

"Please, can someone help me?" A man cried as his horse galloped towards Taki. The man fell off his horse. He was bleeding on his side with a wound that appeared to be made from a large, curve-shaped object.

"What happened to you?" Taki quickly asked, taking out some bandages and immediately treating the man's wounds.

"I come from a neighboring town. There is some sort of daemon attacking. I heard rumors that there are powerful warriors around here. Do you know any?"

'_Demon?' Taki thought. 'I only know of one demon still existence. Could it be Gel-o-Fury? After all this time, he's finally shown his face.'_

"Only a trained demon hunter can kill a demon. An ordinary warrior doesn't stand a chance, no matter how good he is." Taki informed the man. She stood up and put her medical supplies in her bag. "And there is only one left alive."

"Can you please tell me where he is?" The old man required.

"You're looking at her. My name is Taki, known as Shadow Huntress of Demons."

"You're a demon huntress?"

"Yes, I am. Your wounds are small, so you should be O.K. Head towards a white house with a blacksmith shop attached to it. There is a kind woman who will take care of you. Now, where is your village?"

"Down South." The man spoke.

"Good. Don't worry about your village. That demon is as good as dead." Taki threw a smoke bomb and vanished.

*****

In a small town, the fiercest creature any of the people had ever seen was attacking. The creature was made of black shadows and took the form similar to a ghost. His eyes glowed yellow and in his right harm he carried a scythe. Bats flew around the creature, protecting him in from attack.

"Fire!" The commander of a firing squad ordered as the men drew their rifles and fired at the demon. Even though the bullets went through the demon, the demon healed instantly. The bullets only seemed to make the demon angrier as he floated towards the riflemen with his scythe raised.

"Retreat!" A rifleman yelled as the demon cut through the men.

A knife flew down from a building, cutting the demon in the side and then, like a boomerang, flew back towards its owner.

"It's over, demon." Taki announced as she caught her knife. "Prepare to be sealed."

'_This monster isn't Gel-o-Fury.'_ Taki thought. _'No matter, I'll destroy it regardless. A demon's a demon.'_

Taki drew several sealing cards and threw them towards the demon, but the monster's bats flew in front, blocking any damage from the cards. The demon threw his scythe at Taki, but she threw a smoke bomb. When the scythe hit the smoke, Taki had already vanished.

Taki was able to hide in the shadows behind the creature. She drew her blade and used her power to form lightening. She charged towards the demon's back, leaving a large gash in the demon's skin. However, the demon healed.

"What?" Taki gasped.

The demon's bats all flew towards her, causing her to skid backwards as they shoved and bit at her. Unable to get away from the cloud of bats that formed around her, Taki began to perform a ninjitsu spell. She made several ninjitsu figures with her hands and slammed the ground with her palm. A ball of blue fire appeared around her and destroyed the bats. Although several of the bats were gone, more appeared around the demon. Taki was already tired from being bit so many times by the bats and using her Soul Chi.

"He must have a weak spot somewhere." Taki decided. "Otherwise those bats wouldn't shield him."

Taki quickly analyzed the monster and noticed a glowing gold crystal underneath the creature's abdomen.

"That's it." Taki announced.

Taki threw several sealing cards towards the demon and purposely allowed them to hit the bats. As soon as the cards hit the bats, they burst into flames, giving Taki a path to the monster's weak spot. Taki slashed at the monster, but the monster blocked her attack with his own weapon. Taki tried several more times to attack the monster with her Rekki-Maru, but the demon was able to block her and managed to strike her, knocking an unconscious Taki to the ground.

*****

"_Sensei, you have a mission for me?" A sixteen-year-old Taki approached the village chief as he waited patiently for her. _

"_Yes Taki. I have received reports from our men that a demon has attacked a nearby town. This will be your first mission. I expect nothing but success from my top student." _

"_Yes Sensei, you have nothing to worry about. Consider it done." _

"_I already do." Toki assured._

*****

Taki quickly opened her eyes and slashed the demon in his weak spot.

"Do not think I die so easily." Taki hissed. The demon roared in pain and tried to bring his ax down upon her, but Taki rolled to the side and then jumped into the air.

"It is time to finish this." Taki announced as she drew her cursed blade, Mekki-Maru. Taki crossed her two blades and shot a blast of lightening towards the remaining bats, incinerating them. As Taki flew towards the demon, she slashed at his weak point with both blades, reducing to crystal into nothing but shards.

With the crystal gone, the creature released a final cry and exploded.

"Demon slain. The deed is done." Taki yelled.

Taki analyzed the shards of the crystal. They didn't seem to have any demon aura to them now that the demon was destroyed, but she felt it would be a good idea to place some seals on the shards. Taki drew sealing cards and threw them on the shards. While finishing her seals, Taki couldn't help but have another flashback of her master.

*****

"_How was your first mission, Taki?" Toki asked. _

"_Good, sensei." Taki reported. "The demon was killed and I have the money for our village." _

"_Excellent work, my young apprentice. I knew you would honor our village with your abilities. I heard the weapon you used in battle was your own?" _

"_Yes. I recently perfected my weapon craftsmanship and created a new blade for myself. I call it the Rekki-Maru." _

"_I'm impressed. If you were able to kill a demon with it, it must be a fine weapon. It is common for our people to craft our own weapons for battle, Taki. I suppose this is one more skill you have mastered. You are dismissed until we have another mission. Do be home by dinner." _

"_Yes, Sensei." _

_*****_

Taki quickly came back to reality. The skilled ninja quickly jumped into the air, dodging a crescent shaped beam of energy that cut through a brick house as if it was made of paper.

"I see you have not lost your touch, Taki." A woman called from the town's grain tower.

The woman was no one Taki recognized, but for some reason, she felt a familiar evil coming from her. She had long, black hair tied in a pony tail and was dressed in revealing black leather. The skull of a dead demon was tied to her left shoulder like a shoulder pad. In both hands she carried a katana blade.

"I sense something very familiar about you." Taki spoke to the woman.

"Of course you do." The woman smiled. "How could forget me?"

"Of course, you're Gel-o-Fury." Taki gasped.

*****

_A 21-year-old Taki gathered with every ninja in the middle of the village where Toki stood on a pedestal. Taki had just returned from a year-long mission as a spy and wondered what was so important that all the ninjas of the village had been called forth. Some of them had been in the middle of important missions._

"_My people, I have urgent news." Toki began. "Hachibei has left our village without permission and taken the village treasure, Mekki-Maru, and his daughter, Chei, with him. As you all know, these acts cannot go unpunished. I want everyone to find and kill both Hachibei and Chei." _

_Taki couldn't believe what she was hearing. Such consequences for actions such as these were common in the ninja tribe, but she couldn't believe that ex-chief Hachibei and Chei would do such things. There was something about her sensei that was different. His voice, his eyes, the way he held himself, they were all different than when she had left. However, she could not turn down this mission, not when it was given to her directly from the chief of the village and her sensei. _

*****

"That's why I sense the demon energy from your body." Taki growled at the woman. "You managed to possess another unwilling host. Well this is your last, demon. I will destroy you here and now."

"Actually, this body was quite willing to be possessed by me." The demon explained. "All that lived in her soul was hate and the desire to kill."

"So be it. This battle just became easier for me." Taki jumped into the air and threw several sealing cards at the demon.

The woman demon jumped towards Taki and dodged the attacks.

"Let me introduce you to my blades, Raijin-Maru and Fujin-Maru, Taki." The woman hissed as she slashed at Taki.

Taki blocked the blows and retaliated with her own as the two began their vicious battle.

'_I've got to lead her away from this village before anyone gets hurt,'_ Taki thought, dodging the woman blows.

Taki jumped onto the tops of houses and began to run from the demon woman, leading her out of the village and into the forest. Since she knew the area and had inhuman agility, she would have an advantage there.

Taki jumped through the treetops followed by the demon woman as they continued their battle, jumping from tree branch to tree branch. The demon woman slashed at Taki, but Taki managed to block the blow. The force of the blow knocked Taki out of the tree. Taki easily recovered and landed on her feet, then jumped to the side to avoid another attack from the demon woman. The demon woman's attack was so powerful that it smashed through the ground, causing a small crater.

Taki had to be extremely careful in this battle. Like any demon-possessed warrior, this woman was much stronger than a human and one of her blows would cause more damage than several of Taki's. The only way Taki could win was through her speed, but even that was going to be difficult since this woman wasn't about to give Taki time to prepare for a spell.

*****

"Has anyone seen Taki lately?" Talim asked.

"Not really. Why do you ask?" Cassandra wondered, now conscious from her battle with her older sister.

"I'm just worried for some reason." Talim spoke.

Link, who played his ocarina but listened intently to the conversation, couldn't help but agree with her. The Hylian hero stopped playing when he heard a knock on the door.

"Link, put a hat on." Talim instructed as Cassandra answered the door.

When Cassandra opened the door, an old man fell in. Link quickly ran over and caught him before the rest of the group could even react.

"Are you O.K. sir?" Talim questioned.

"I'm sorry for the bother." The old man coughed, "But I was told by a woman that I could rest here and get my wounds treated."

"Who told you that?" Cassandra asked.

"I don't know. She claimed to be a demon hunter."

"Demon hunter?" Cassandra questioned. "That must be Taki."

"Where is she?" Talim asked.

"She's probably heading to my village. It was attacked by a demon and she said she would kill it."

"A demon?" Talim questioned.

"Where is the village?" Link quickly questioned, suddenly becoming worried about his friend.

"South." The old man replied.

Link grabbed his weapons as he prepared to go. "Stay here." Link told the rest of the group.

****

"You are much tougher than I thought, Taki." The demon woman complimented. "However, let's see how well you can dodge this."

A ball of dark energy formed in front of the demon woman as she began to charge her attack.

"Spirit release!" The women demon yelled.

A giant blast of pure energy shot from the woman demon's blade, completely incinerating everything it came into contact with.

Taki did a flip into the air to avoid the attack, but felt her back sear with pain. When Taki landed, she felt a horrible burning on her back, telling her she was badly hurt. It was a good thing she hadn't been hit by that attack or there would have been nothing left of her.

"You dodged it, impressive." The woman demon complimented. "But I doubt you'll survive another attack."

The woman demon lunged at Taki again, continuing their battle.

'_There has to be away to defeat that attack.'_ Taki thought, thinking back about that woman's attack. _'I got it!'_

Taki blocked another attack from the demon woman, and then she jumped back from the demon, creating the perfect opportunity for the demon woman to fire her attack again.

"Looks like you haven't had enough of my attack. Spirit Release!" The demon woman yelled.

This time Taki was ready for the attack. Since the demon woman's attack was only a frontal attack, she was vulnerable to the sides and back. As soon the woman demon released her attack, Taki jumped to the side and threw a smoke bomb to give her cover. Taki was able to appear to the side of the demon woman, ready to deliver the final blow with her blade when an angry howl could be heard from the woods.

A second demon jumped out of the wood towards Taki and the demon huntress had to switch the direction of her attack at the last moment to block the second demon's attack.

This demon was mostly humanoid. He even wore clothes of a human, but his head was like a wolf's. He also had sharp claws for nails and a wolf's tail.

"Did you really think I'd come here alone, Taki?" The demon woman asked. "Meet my colleague, Auguste. We serve the same master."

"Master?" Taki asked.

"Yes." The demon woman answered. "But we really weren't supposed to tell you that. Oh well, it's not like skeletons tell secrets."

Both of the demons charged at Taki. Taki could handle one demon, but she didn't stand a chance against both. As Taki blocked an attack from Auguste's claws, the demon woman kicked Taki in the stomach. Since the woman was so strong, the kick knocked the wind out of Taki.

Even though Taki was in great pain, she didn't quit. As the demon woman slashed at Taki, the ninja blocked the attacks, only to be slashed across the chest by the wolf demon's claws.

Taki finally fell to her knees, gasping for breath. The woman demon grabbed Taki by the neck and lifted her off the ground, choking her. The woman demon's long fingernails caused small cuts along Taki's neck. Taki eventually passed out and was thrown to the side.

"It's time to say goodbye, Taki." The woman demon chuckled, preparing for her attack again. "Soul Release."

As the beam of energy approached, the ninja vanished right before the attack could strike her

"What?" The woman growled.

"Cowards!" Link yelled in Hylian from the treetops, causing the two demons to look up. "You two couldn't beat her alone, so you had to gang up on her."

"A Hylian?" The demon woman chuckled. "I haven't seen one of your kind for a while."

Both the demons jumped towards Link, who threw Taki on his shoulder and held on to her with one arm while his other hand drew his Great Fairy's Sword.

"Din's Fire!" Link chanted as a ball of flames surrounded his body. The flames expanded and engulfed everything in their path, including the two demons. The demons hit the ground hard from the attack and Link took his chance to run with Taki.

*****

_Taki and her tribe searched for Hachibei_ _and his daughter for a year without rest, but the old man was an expert ninja and knew how to stay hidden. Eventually, Taki was able to follow clues to his hiding spot. Hachibei ran an inn under a false name with his daughter. As Taki approached the inn, she kept hidden in the shadows and watched her targets through the window. Chei prepared dinner for her father and husband. Taki had known about their hiding place for a month, but didn't strike, knowing that Chei's husband was an unusually powerful man and would provide a challenge for her. _

"_Chei." Hachibei coughed. "If you'd excuse me, I'd like to get some fresh air. My cough is acting up again." _

"_Father?" Chei questioned. _

"_Don't worry, my dear, I'll be fine. I won't be out for more than five minutes." _

_As Hachibei walked outside, he looked towards Taki's hiding place. "I know you're there, Taki." _

"_I see you haven't lost your skills." Taki complimented, keeping herself hidden. "I suppose you know why I'm here." _

"_That I do, and I suppose that by surrendering my own life and Mekki-Maru, I wouldn't spare my daughter or future grandchild's life, would I?" _

"_Not under chief's orders. You are both to be killed and the blade returned." _

"_And you didn't find anything about the Chief suspicious?" _

"_What?" Taki questioned. _

"_Taki, don't insult me. Surely the child protégée that you are could sense the evil within the chief."_

_Taki didn't respond, which was enough for the old man to understand her answer. _

"_I don't know how, but an evil came over him the year you were gone." The old man explained._

_Much to Taki's surprise, the old man tossed Mekki-Maru to her without a fight. _

"_I only request one thing." Hachibei requested. "You protect this blade with your life. Whatever you do, don't let Toki get a hold of it. As soon as you unsheathe the blade, you'll notice that it has gained some sort of evil power. If Toki has that blade, the results could be disastrous." _

_While Taki stared in amazement, Hachibei walked back into his house, leaving Taki to ponder his words. _

_*****_

Taki awoke in a cave, and felt someone bandaging her.

"Sorry." Link apologized as he continued to wrap the ninja's wounds. "I'll try my best not to look."

"It's fine. I'll do the rest myself." Taki assured.

"But you're injured and shouldn't move." Link protested.

"I said I'm fine, Link." Taki informed, taking the bandages out of his hand. She was used to having to apply her own wraps and medicines since she worked alone for so much of her life.

"Why do you always want to do things yourself?" Link asked.

"Why do you?" Taki accused.

"I don't want people to get hurt." Link informed. "Same?" The Hylian tried to guess.

Of course that was one of the reasons Taki preferred to do things herself, but the other reason was because she never had anyone to rely on before. She had always worked for herself and by herself. That was the way of her life. Even when she was part of the Fu-Ma ninja clan, she had never had a partner.

"I've always worked solo." Taki admitted.

*****

"_Taki, I expect you have good news for me?" Toki spoke. _

"_Yes, Sensei." Taki responded and began her fabrication. "Chei married an extremely powerful warrior, making it difficult for me to attack until he left. Luckily, he left to hunt down a pirate, which is when I struck. Both Hachibei and Chei are dead. However, they hid the Mekki-Maru and would not say even when threatened with torture." _

"_Yes, I see. I am not surprised Hachibei would do such a thing. I want you to find Chei's husband, Taki. He most likely has some idea where the blade is. After you get the information from him, kill him." _

"_With all due respect sensei, I doubt he would know anything. Chei didn't even reveal her real name to him." _

"_It does not matter. I want no loose strings, is that understood, Taki? Take care of him and anyone else who could cause trouble in the future." _

"_Yes master." _

_As Taki left the village with her new mission, she knew that Hachibei was right about Toki. This was not the same sensei that had raised and loved her. He had changed._

"_Stop traitor!" A ninja chased after Taki. _

_Taki quickly spun around to see three of her clan members chasing her. They threw a barrage of ninja stars, but the ninja easily blocked the attacks with her blade. She then killed the three assassins as quickly as possible. _

_Toki knew she had lied, not that it mattered now. She had already chosen her path. She would retrieve the Mekki-Maru from its hiding place and take it with her. She had heard stories of a demonic blade being used by a pirate that was said to affect peoples' minds and cause them to do evil things. Taki couldn't help but wonder if that was what had affected Toki. If so, Taki would track that pirate down and destroy him and his blade._

_*****_

"Damn that Hylian hero." The demon woman swore. "Can you smell his tracks?"

"No." Auguste responded. "All the smoke from his fire spell has affected my smell."

"I suppose so. If he is the Hero of Time, he probably found a way to hide his scent from you."

"What do we do? Go after their friends?"

"No, our orders are to kill the hero and Taki. The others are to be left alone for now."

"How do we find him?"

"Simple. I can sense a demonic energy coming from our young hero. All we have to do is follow it and it will eventually lead us to our prey."

*****

"I never really knew who my parents were, and after that battle against Toki, I had no parents at all." Taki explained to Link. She told him her story after some prying, beginning with her discovery by Toki in the woods to her killing him in a duel.

"Your master was possessed by a demon, and the demon is possessing that woman now?" Link questioned.

"Correct." Taki answered. "I think Soul Edge somehow affected my sensei as well. It seemed like the rise of Soul Edge occurred around the same time his madness began."

"I see." Link nodded. "What about that woman?"

"According to Gel-o-Fury, she was a woman whose soul was only filled with hate, and she wanted to bond to become a killing machine. I highly doubt he would lie about that."

"Although by telling us that, he knew we'd have no reason to hold back against her?" Link guessed.

"Correct." Taki nodded.

Link's ears perked up.

"They're here." Link informed, grabbing his blade and walking out of the cave. Taki tried to get up, but Link stopped her. "Stay here. I can face them."

"I doubt you can beat them alone."

"Watch me." Link walked out of the cave to face the two demons. The demon woman was smirking arrogantly.

"Well, this is interesting." The woman chuckled. "I thought the demonic energy I sensed was from Soul Edge, but it's from you, hero."

Taki's eyes widened when she heard that remark. She had always wondered about Link and the power she sensed from him. It was so strange. It was a mixture of both energy in its purist form, and yet, it also contained traces of demonic energy as well. She had always assumed the power was due to the shards he carried around. Was it possible he carried the shards as a cover up so no one knew what he really was?

"What do you mean?" Link questioned.

"Oh come on, don't play stupid." The woman laughed. "I can sense the inside of you, hero. Its faint, but it is still present. There is the power of a demon, hidden behind the holy powers that you hide it with. Tell me, why do you work so hard to save these worthless mortals, especially that ninja? She's a demon hunter and will kill you if she ever knew your true form. Or did you not even know you had a true form?"

"I knew…a little. Doesn't matter though. They're my friends, and I protect them regardless."

"Well, that is quite unfortunate, especially for you." The woman chuckled. "You see, look at how we are placed right now. If I release my blast, you would have to make the choice of either trying to block it, which would kill you, or dodge it and let it destroy that cave your standing in front of. I doubt Taki is strong enough to escape, so she would die instead of you. Tell me hero, who do you choose to die?"

"Neither." Link informed.

"So you think you'll survive protecting her?" The demon woman laughed. "Brave but foolish. Soul Release!"

The demon released her energy blast towards Link, who didn't move. He had sensed her power rising and knew she planned this from the start.

Link didn't budge. All he did was raise his shield, which had transformed from the Hylian Shield to the Mirror Shield. Once the blast struck the shield, the mirror absorbed the energy as if it was nothing.

"What?" The demon woman gasped.

"Reflect!" Link yelled.

A powerful beam of light shot out of Link's shield towards the demon woman, who quickly avoided the attack.

"So, he can absorb spells and fire them back as light energy. Using light magic is kind of unusual for a demon." The demon woman lectured.

"I'm not a demon!" Link yelled in Hylian.

"Temper, temper." The demon woman mocked. "Come, let's finish this."

Both demons charged Link. Link knew he could not defeat both demons with his ordinary powers, so he called upon the Triforce to lend him its strength. A powerful gold aura surrounded Link's body as he rushed towards the demons.

With the power of the Triforce, Link was able to hold his own against the demons. He was just as strong, if not stronger, than they were at the moment. However, the downside to using his power was that he felt it draining his magic quickly. He'd have to make sure the battle didn't drag on too long.

The wolf-faced demon drew a Chinese sword from his belt and slashed at Link. Link blocked the attack with his own blade and then blocked the woman demon's attacks with his shield. Link quickly sidestepped so he was no longer between the two demons. The Hylian quickly jumped backwards as he continued to fend them off.

Link performed a quick spin attack, slicing into the wolf-headed demon's side as he tried to dodge Link's attack.

"Black Petal Storm!" Link yelled as a storm of black rose petals released towards the woman demon.

The demon was unable to dodge the attack. She raised her blades to absorb some of the damage as she skidded several feet from the blast.

"Impressive." The woman chuckled. "And to think you're using maybe one percent of your demon powers. No matter, this battle is over now."

The demon woman reached into her pouch and pulled out a piece of Soul Edge.

"Great." Link growled in Hylian. "Now she'll be even more power powerful. I hate using my full power, especially after what happened against Nightmare, but it appears I have no choice."

Before Link could call upon his magic armor, a blast of lightening shot through the air and carved a path between him and the two demons. Link looked into a tree to see Mitsurugi standing with his sword drawn.

"Seriously, Link. Haven't you learned not to run off by yourself yet?' The samurai jumped next to the Hylian warrior. "And to make matters worse, Taki almost got killed. If you two die, I have no one to test my skills against, and I will not let that happen. Now, get Taki out of here. I'll take care of this."

"You'll die fighting them alone." Link informed.

"So be it." The samurai growled. "At least I'll die knowing I fought with all my strength. Now go!"

Knowing that Mitsurugi would find some way to survive and that Taki was too injured at the moment, Link picked up the ninja and began to run.

"What are you doing? Stop." Taki demanded. "Stop!"

"I need to get you to a safe place." Link informed. "Mitsurugi will be O.K."

Mitsurugi turned to face both of his opponents.

"So, you think you can actually fight two demons?" The demon woman chuckled. "You're as good as gone."

The demon woman slashed at Mitsurugi, who managed to block the attack. The samurai then jumped out of the way of the wolf headed demon's sword slash.

"Keep him occupied, Auguste." The demon woman ordered. "I'll go after Taki."

The demon woman chased after Link and Taki. Mitsurugi was about to go after her, but the wolf-headed demon jumped between them.

"You're my challenger?" Mitsurugi snorted. "So be it."

*****

_Taki approached the Hoko Temple and prepared to fight her sensei. For years, she had slain and avoided Toki's assassins. Now their fight was about to come to a conclusion._

"_Taki, you have finally arrived." Toki spoke, standing in the middle of the temple as Taki entered. Toki was now fully under the influence of the evil demon. His eyes were only orbs of white light and he had a wicked demon aura about him. _

"_Yes, and it is time to finish this." Taki announced, drawing both her blades. "One way or another." _

"_Yes, one way or another." Toki agreed._

*****

Link continued to run through the forest when he sensed the demon woman catching up to him. The Hylian warrior jumped into the tree tops to avoid the blast of energy that approached him.

"She's here." Link hissed.

Link noticed a rocky clearing. It wasn't the best place to hide, but it would at least give Taki some cover from the battle. Link jumped into the area and set the injured ninja down.

"Why are you trying to fight my battle for me?" Taki questioned.

"Because we are friends."

"Technically, we're enemies Link." Taki informed. "I heard the conversation you had with Gel-o-Fury. You have demon powers locked inside of you, and when you fight, you use a small amount of those demon powers. If you are a demon, Link, that makes us enemies."

Link shrugged and prepared for battle as the demon woman approached.

"After all that, you still plan to protect your friend?" The demon woman chuckled. "Oh well, it doesn't matter. I know all about you. You would never kill another human being. If you try to destroy me, you'll also kill this woman I have possessed. You wouldn't do that, would you?"

Link didn't answer the demon woman's question. He immediately called upon his power from the Triforce and lunged at the woman with his sword. The Hylian warrior had moved so quickly and unexpectedly, the demon woman didn't have enough time to dodge the attack completely and was cut by it.

"What in the world?" The demon woman gasped.

"Don't think I've never killed, because I've been killing since I was a child. I hate doing it." Link explained. "Our hearts decide if we are monsters or not. The woman you possess is evil and just as monster-like on the inside. Therefore, she is a monster."

"I look forward to finally seeing you fight without mercy." The demon woman laughed. The demon woman held her shard of Soul Edge and began to absorb its power. "Now, let the real fun begin."

*****

Mitsurugi blocked a blow from the wolf-headed demon's sword and then dodged a blow from the demon's claws.

"I'm impressed." Mitsurugi complimented. "If I knew demon hunting was this much of a thrill, I would have started it several years ago."

Like all demons, the wolf-headed demon was several times stronger and faster than a normal human. When it punched the ground in an attempt to hit Mitsurugi, his fist left a deep imprint in the ground and the wolf-headed demon didn't even act phased.

Mitsurugi and the demon's blade collided as both warriors tried to push each other backwards. Mitsurugi had good footing, but he began to skid backwards from the demon's superior strength.

"You are stronger than me." Mitsurugi admitted. "But don't think I will let you beat me!"

Lightening surrounded Mitsurugi's sword and body as he grasped his sword with both hands and twisted, cutting through the demon's blade. Mitsurugi then shot a blast of lightening out of his blade at the demon, causing it to skid backwards several feet and fall to its knees, paralyzed.

Mitsurugi jumped towards the demon and released four powerful slashes that were quicker than the eye could see.

"Hmph, it wasn't even worth drawing my sword." Mitsurugi snorted. _'I just hope Link and Taki are fine. That female demon was much stronger than this one.' _

*****

The demon woman and Link continued to battle. Link jumped into the air, but the demon woman was able to jump above him and kick him to the ground. Link landed on his feet and made a small crater from the impact. Link quickly jumped out the way of another incoming attack.

"It's over, hero! Spirit Release!" The demon woman yelled.

Link held up his blade as be began to charge. First blue lightening surrounded the blade, followed by a more powerful gold energy.

"Hurricane Spin!" Link yelled, slashing at the demon's beam of energy and firing a power blast of gold energy out of his blade to neutralize the demon's attack.

"You can't keep this up." The demon woman informed. "While your strength has been diminishing in this fight, mine stays strong because of the shard from Soul Edge."

"Then I guess I will have to use my full power." Link spoke as the aura around his body began to increase and his gold armor began to appear around his body.

'_That power.'_ Taki thought, sensing Link's strength increase. _'I've never sensed anything like this before. Using this much power could put too much strain on Link and kill him.'_

Taki drew her knife and threw it at the demon woman. The demon saw the attack and dodged it. Taki's knife flew back into her hand as she prepared to fight.

"I will not let Link fight this battle for me any longer." Taki growled. "It is my job to kill you, and that is what I will do."

"Taki…" Link began.

"Stand down, Link. I'm going to finish this." Taki informed.

"All right, let's begin." The demon woman spoke running towards Taki.

Taki and the demon began their battle, but it was clear Taki was too weak to put up much of a fight against the demon. The demon woman spun around and kicked Taki in the back and attempted to slash at her, but Taki managed to dodge the attack.

"Taki." Link cried.

"I told you to let me do this." Taki ordered. "I only have one chance left to beat her, and I'm going to use it."

Taki began to make ninjitsu signs with her hands.

"Triple Clone Strike!" Taki chanted as her body suddenly split into three copies of herself. One copy stood to the right of the demon woman, one stood to the left, and the third stood in the middle. All three copies dashed at the demon with such amazing speed, they seemed like blurs.

"Please, there is only one of you. I just have to destroy the copies and then you." The demon chuckled. As the copies charged, she slashed at the two on her sides, causing them to vanish. "Thought so. The real you is attacking me from the front.

The demon woman slashed at Taki, but as soon as her blade cut the ninja, Taki vanished into thin air.

"What? They were all copies?" The demon woman gasped.

"You should watch your opponent better." Taki yelled from sky as she came rocketing down towards the demon. The demon woman began to raise her blades to block Taki's powerful blow. As soon as Taki's blade came down, a large explosion of purple energy occurred.

Link couldn't tell if Taki's blow had connected or if the demon had been able to block it time.

Both Taki and the demon woman leapt out of the explosion from opposite sides, their backs to each other. The demon woman fell to her knees as purple lightening surrounded her body. She then exploded, leaving nothing behind.

Link and Taki saw a black mist with glowing red eyes float into the sky from the dead woman's remains.

"Did you think that would defeat me?" The mist roared. "I'll simply take someone else's body."

"Not this time." Taki yelled, taking out a necklace with a small blue stone attached to it. "Evil spirit, be gone!"

The blue stone began to glow and Link watched as its rays of light pierced through the black fog, causing the stone to shatter.

'_Couldn't have done better myself, even if I'd used a light arrow.'_ Link thought.

"Demon slain. The deed is done." Taki muttered her favorite line softly as she fell to her hands and knees and then spewed blood from her mouth.

"Taki!" Link cried, running up to the ninja and supporting her. She was badly injured with several slash marks all over her body.

The ninja was now unconscious. Link checked for a pulse. She was breathing but barely.

"What happened to her?" Mitsurugi yelled, jumping down from a tree. "You were supposed to protect her!"

"This battle was personal for her. She had to win it." Link withdrew a blue staff and lowered it towards Taki. "This staff can stop most of the bleeding, but her life is still in danger."

"Right, let's get her to Sophitia's place right away." Mitsurugi spoke.

*****

_Taki and Toki had been battling for hours. It had been one of the toughest battles Taki ever had and would ever fight. Taki dodged a blow from her sensei's dagger and jumped back._

"_It is time to finish this battle." Taki informed her former Sensei, "And I'll do it with the very technique you taught me." _

"_Is that so? We'll see about that." Toki yelled as he foolishly charged towards Taki._

_Taki began to make several ninjitsu signs with her hands. "Triple Clone Strike." _

_Taki split into three clones. One was at the left side of Toki, one was on the right side and the final was in front him. All three of the clones dashed towards Taki at once and slashed at him at the same time. _

_Toki fell to his knees, bleeding heavily from his wounds. As he fell to his knees, an evil fog flew out of his mouth and vanished. _

"_Taki…is that you…" The old ninja spoke. _

"_Sensei!" Taki cried running up to her master and catching him before he hit the ground. Taki saw her sensei at this time and the insanity had left him. _

"_Sorry...it's very dark…" _

_Those were the last word's Taki's sensei ever spoke. Taki dragged her sensei's body out of the temple and gave him a proper burial ritual. This wouldn't be the end though. She still had demons to hunt and Soul Edge was still out there. Plus, Toki's assassins would attack her even more now that they new she killed their master. _

*****

Taki awoke in Sophtia's house in bed with everyone but Mitsurugi staring at her.

"You're awake." Talim spoke. "When you didn't return, Link got worried about you."

"I see." Taki answered. She suddenly remembered everything that had happened even though her head hadn't stopped aching. She began to get up, only to feel a sharp pain in her gut.

"Don't you even try to get up!" Mitsurugi barked from across the room. "If it hadn't been for Link, you probably wouldn't be alive. He was able to stop most of the bleeding, but you still lost a lot of blood, so take it easy. Remember, if you die, then I no longer have a rival."

Mitsurugi then left the room, ignoring the rest of the group.

"Some things never change." Taki muttered.

"Don't say that." Talim encouraged. "I know he doesn't show it, but Mitsurugi was very worried."

"Of course. Without me or Link, his training would be pointless." Taki spat.

"It's not like that." Talim argued. "I think he really does care. He was very worried about you when you left and actually tried to follow you, but he lost you in the city because he didn't know where to go."

"You're still too innocent, Talim." Taki lectured. "Link, I'd like to speak to you alone."

Link looked at the others and motioned for them to leave. After Taki knew no one could hear, she spoke to Link.

"It no longer matters to me who you are or where you came from." Taki told the Hylian. "Even if you are said to be a demon, I've only see you do good deeds with no regard for your own safety. Even if you are a demon, which I'm not sure if that is the truth, that secret is safe with me."

"Thank you." Link noticed that some of Taki's bandages were drenched. Link began to change them for her.

"Taki, I think your sensei would be proud of you." Link informed.

"What?"

"When you fought him, he made a stupid move to run at you. He was a good warrior, and shouldn't have made that mistake. He did it on purpose so you could win. His inner will fought against the demon's will, and it was his way to help you win."

"Yes, I see what you mean." Taki spoke, closing her eyes.

*****

"_Sensei, if I died on a mission, would you still remember me?" A ten-year-old Taki asked her adoptive father. _

"_Of course." Toki responded, leaning down to hug the small girl. "There is one thing you must always remember, Taki. No matter what happens to us when we die, you will always be my daughter, and I will always love you." _

*****

"Your plan failed." Spawn sneered at Raphael as he approached the noblemen. Raphael had been watching from a distance, and was trying to make sense of the outcome.

"Only to those with simple brains." Raphael retaliated in his gentlemen's tone. "Regardless of the outcome, the ninja is still out of commission for some time. Also, we just discovered a lot of helpful information about our little friend, Link."


	29. Chapter 28 Mina's engagement

Ch. 28 Mi-na's Engagement

Link sat in Patroklos and Pyrrha's room, making paper airplanes with them.

"See look." Link showed the children a paper airplane and threw it in air. The children watched as it flew around in a circle and came back to him.

"Wow, Mr. Elf! That is cool." Pyrrha giggled.

"Yeah, can you show us how to make one?" Patroklos begged.

"Certainly." Link offered.

Once Link finished playing with the children, he headed downstairs where Sophitia was cooking.

"You're so good with children, Link." Sophitia complimented. "Have you ever considered marriage?"

"What is 'marriage'?" Link asked.

"Oh, I suppose you don't know that word yet. Well, marrying is when a man and woman become one and become a family. And if you ever wonder what 'engaged' is, that is when a man gives a girl a ring and ask her to marry him." Sophitia held up her ring to show Link. "Or some other present that declares you will become married in the future."

"Oh." Link replied. He understood what the words meant now. "I happy not married." Link lied to her. He was a little shy about subjects that involved women.

"If you say so. I'm just surprised someone of your age isn't looking to settle down. You know, Cassandra has had her eye on you for quite a while."

"Sister!" Cassandra shouted. She was also in the kitchen with her sister and was turning red, although it was hard to tell whether it was from anger or embarrassment. Link seemed to be also turning a little pink from the comment.

"I have to go. Need to find more activities for Patrokolos and Pyrrha." Link quickly excused himself and left.

"Way to go sister!" Cassandra shouted.

"I was only trying to help." Sophitia shrugged. "You're getting too old to be single."

A Korean man rode into Athens and scanned the streets for someone in particular. He was dressed in a flashy green vest and baggy blue pants. His hair was spiky and black with a blue bandanna tied around his forehead. He carried a blue blade shaped like Chinese sword in the sash around his waist.

"Excuse me, sir. Have you seen Korean woman?" The man asked a passerby.

"Nope, but I heard there are a lot of odd people living in the Alexandra house." The man informed.

"Really, can you please tell me where it is?"

"Yes, go to the large white house with a lot of smoke coming out of it. The man of the house is a blacksmith."

"Thank you, sir." The man thanked the man as he headed on.

Unknown to this Korean man, Link had been listening to his conversation. Thanks to Rothion, Link had a helmet he wore in public. It was quite a clever plan thought up by Taki. Wearing a cloak everywhere was kind of suspicious; however, because Link always dressed in his warrior clothes, wearing a helmet in public didn't look suspicious at all.

'_Why would he be looking for a Korean woman? Wait a minute; he looks a lot like Yun-Seong and Mi-na.' _

Link quickly turned around and to head back to Sophitia's house. Luckily, Link knew his way around the city and was able to beat the newcomer there. Link highly doubted this man was dangerous. He seemed friendly enough, however, Taki was already injured badly and if something happened, Link wanted to be there to defend the others.

Yun-Seong was outside, practicing his sword play.

"I think that's enough. At the rate I'm improving, I'll be the best warrior alive." Yun-Seong bragged to himself.

He tossed his blade into the air, but as he tried to catch it, he began to stumble, not wanting to grab the sharp edge. The hilt ended up bonking him on the head and landed into another warrior's hand.

"I see you haven't changed at all, Yun-Seong." A man chuckled.

Yun-Seong looked up to see a Korean man on a horse staring down at him.

"Hwang?" Yun-Seong questioned.

"In the flesh." The Korean man announced.

"It's been forever since I've seen you! How have you been and what brings you so far from the guards?"

"Well, I unfortunately had to retire from the navy." The Korean sighed.

"Why? I mean, they were lucky to get one of the finest warriors in Korea like you." Yun-Seong complimented.

"Long story. Anyway, if you're here, Mi-na is bound to be close by, chasing after you. Have you seen her?"

"Yeah, she's in the house. I'll bring you to her." Yun-Seong offered, leading Hwang into the house. "Hey Mi-na! Guess who I found."

Mi-na walked out and her mouth almost dropped when she saw Hwang. Without warning, the Korean woman grabbed her weapon and leapt over the two Korean males as she ran out the door.

"Oh come on, not this again!" Hwang growled as he chased Mi-na through the busy streets.

"Mi-na, stop!" Hwang called after her.

While running, Mi-na bumped into Link and almost fell over, since running into him was like running into a brick wall.

"Oh hi, Link." Mi-na smiled awkwardly.

Link had seen Hwang chasing Mi-na and that was all he needed to see that man as enemy. Link jumped over Mi-na and threw a punch at the Korean man. Hwang, being a seasoned warrior, was able to dodge the attack and drew his weapon. Link did the same and blocked the one of Hwang's attacks.

Already, Link was able to analyze this man's strength. Judging by how quickly he drew his blade and dodged Link's attack told Link he was obviously a well-trained warrior. However, he seemed to be a normal human, which meant that he wouldn't stand a chance against Link or even Taki or Mitsurugi.

"Who are you?" The Korean man asked.

"Why you chase Mi-na?" Link demanded in the unfriendly tone he only used with his enemies.

"Link, what are you doing?" Yun-Seong yelled as he approached the Hylian and Korean man. "Geez! And Mi-na complains about me being stupid. Starting a fight in the street is really calling attention to us right now."

"My young friend has a point." The Korean man pointed out. "I mean Mi-na no harm. My name is Hwang. I am a friend of her father. Perhaps we can talk somewhere without Mi-na running away from me this time."

"Agreed." Link spoke.

Once again, Hwang was led to Sophitia's house, but this time everything remained fairly calm. Sophitia was even kind enough to serve refreshments to everyone.

"As you already know, my name is Hwang. I'm one of Mi-na's father's ex-students and a very good friend of his. I used to serve in the Navy on the war against Japan."

"Well, isn't that interesting." Mitsurugi snorted, walking out of the room where Taki was resting. "A military man."

"A Samurai." Hang spat, drawing his blade.

"Relax, I'm a mercenary." Mitsurugi assured. "Both my sleeping ninja rival and I have nothing to do with the current war and we aren't here to cause harm."

"Very well, I'll take your word on it." Hwang assured. "Anyway, Mi-na's father and I have been discussing things for a while now…"

"Yeah, yeah, and you two decided that I would marry you." Mi-na interrupted.

"What?" Yun-Seong gasped, almost falling off his chair.

"Yes, that's right. Master Seong convinced me it would be an intelligent move on both our parts. Your father is no longer a young man. You can't run the dojo because you're female, so if we want to keep it going, I need to marry Mi-na. I am well in my thirties now, and much too old to be single. If I want to leave offspring, I need to find a wife now."

"I don't give a damn about any of those reasons!" Mi-na shouted.

"Mi-na." Sophitia lectured. "I have children in this house. Please restrain from using sailor talk.

"Sorry Sophitia." Mi-na apologized, and then turned to Hwang, full of fury. "Look, I don't care about your reasons. I'm not about to go into a marriage I've had no say in. I've spent my entire life as Father's prize for his greatest student. Well, I am no man's prize. I have a right to choose my own life and who I will marry."

Link couldn't help but admire Mi-na. He was about to attempt to say the same thing.

"No, Mi-na, you don't have those rights." Hwang suddenly interrupted. "Whether you want to admit it our not, you are a woman and have a responsibility to your father and family. I was sent here by your father to bring both you and Yun-Seong back, along with the family treasure, White Storm."

"Hold it. I'm fine with you taking Mi-na and all, but I don't want to go back." Yun-Seong argued.

"I technically I can't make you come back, Yun-Seong." Hwang spoke. "Since you are an adult now in our society, you can make that choice. However, Master Seong was quite furious with you for secretly leaving the dojo in the middle of the night and taking White Storm with you."

"Hey, I took the blame for that." Mi-na butted in. "I was the one who gave him the sword."

"Yes, but anyway." Hwang continued. "I was able to convince Master Seong to let you come back and study under him again. Regardless of your decision, you have to return White Storm. It isn't your blade. It belongs to the Seong family."

"O.K., Yun-Seong giving back the sword I can deal with." Mi-na agreed. "But I'm not marrying you. Or at least not until I decide when I'm ready and give my consent."

"Mi-na, I told you already, you don't have a choice." Hwang informed. "If I have to drag you back to Korea with me, I will."

"No one is taking Mi-na without her permission." Link suddenly interrupted. "She has her rights."

"Women have no rights." Hwang informed. "A woman's job is in the house, cooking and taking care of children. She doesn't decide whether or not she wants to do that. That is what she is required to do. Mi-na, I realize this is hard for you to accept and I'm really sorry about that. However, there is no way around it. We don't have to leave any time. Take a few days to enjoy yourself and make preparations. I'll be staying at the hotel."

Once Hwang left the room, Mi-na said several swear words, causing Sophitia to glare at her angrily.

"Don't worry, Mi-na. We won't let Hwang bring you back to Korea." Talim assured. "Link, is there anything that we can do?"

"Don't know." Link admitted.

"What do you mean, you don't know?" Talim asked.

"Unfortunately, Hwang isn't just some bad guy Link can beat up." Raphael explained. "The problem we face isn't one of evil, but one of political. And believe me, political problems are the most complicated problems to solve."

"So what can we do?" Talim questioned.

"Well, there is one solution that may work." Raphael suggested. "Now, if what I read about Korean culture is correct, women are seen as property or occasionally a reward to be given away, as Mi-na is being seen as right now. If Mi-na is a reward, it is possible that someone could challenge Hwang for her, claiming to be more deserving than he is."

"Yeah, but who is eligible to marry Mi-na?" Talim asked.

"That is a problem." Raphael admitted. "How good of a warrior is he?"

"Very good." Yun-Seong admitted. "He was the top warrior in our dojo. Of course, I never got a chance to challenge him, because if I did…"

"So, we conclude Hwang is a very good warrior." Raphael interrupted Yun-Seong before he said something stupid. "That information makes this issue even more problematic because there are so few men."

"What does 'problematic' mean?" Link whispered in Talim's ear.

"It means hard, difficult." Talim whispered, always feeling happy when Link asked her for help.

"The only male warriors we have are Mitsurugi, Link, Yun-Seong, and myself." Raphael continued. "Yun-Seong is most likely not good enouph to beat Hwang, and I doubt I would be good enough either. I also really wouldn't be a good match for her though, being from such a different class and culture."

"You can count me out." Mitsurugi spoke up. "I have no interest in marrying. Besides, since that Mi-na's country and my country are enemies, it wouldn't go over very well. You guys are on your own for this problem. I have better things to worry about."

Mitsurugi walked into the room where Taki was sleeping, leaving the group to think of a plan.

"Well, that just leaves you and me, Link." Raphael stated.

"Link?" Cassandra, Yun-Seong, Mi-na, and Talim all yelled at once.

"Hold it, this is the exact same thing my father is trying to do to me." Mi-na ranted. "I'm not marrying Link or anyone. No offense to you, Link."

"It's fine." Link assured.

"Well, these are your only choices, Mi-na." Raphael informed. "Keep in mind, if you choose Link, you'll at least be able to stay with us."

"True." Mi-na agreed. "But how do you feel about this, Link? If I forced you to do this, then I'd be a hypocrite."

"Don't worry. I'm used to being engaged."

"Wait, what do you mean by that?" Talim asked surprised.

"I already engaged to many, many women." Link informed.

"What?" Everyone suddenly shouted at once as they nearly fell over from shock.

"Link, is that really true?" Talim began, trying to prevent herself from crying. "Are you really that kind of a person?"

"I explain." Link began. "When I little, I was asked if I wanted to marry several times. I thought marry meant celebrating Christmas together, so I accepted."

"What?" Yun-Seong laughed. "How stupid are people from your world? What an idiot."

Both Cassandra and Mi-na smacked Yun-Seong for his comment.

"If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." Mi-na lectured Yun-Seong. "So, Link, if we get engaged, I won't be forced to marry you."

"Nope, you can marry someone else." Link assured.

"Well, this is perfect." Mi-na announced.

"Yes, now there is just one thing left to take care of." Raphael informed.

"What?" Talim asked curiously.

"Well, Link will have to fight Hwang in a way that is deemed acceptable for this challenge. That would mean no magic and it would be wise to fight in a style that is similar to a style that is taught in Korea."

"That's actually a smart idea." Mi-na agreed. "I guess I'll teach Link how to fight."

"You?" Yun-Seong asked with shock.

"Yeah, that's right." Mi-na informed. "You forget, Yun-Seong, that since I was a little girl, I was exposed to martial arts. I'm even better than my father with using a Halberd. Who else knows more about Korean fighting then me?"

"Very good point." Raphael agreed. "I guess you and Link should start now so he'll learn as much as possible."

"Right! Great idea." Mi-na spoke, jumping up and ready to go. "I'll need this." Mi-na told Yun-Seong, taking White Storm before he could say anything. "Come on Link, time for your first lesson."

Mi-na grabbed Link's arm and began to drag him to a place where they could practice.

"All right." Mi-na began to instruct. "The first thing we'll learn is the Seong Style Longsword Style's battle stance and how to bow. Before and after every match, always bow to your opponent. It shows proper respect. When bowing, make sure not to bow too high or too low. It should look something like this. Oh, and it would be best if you used this sword instead of your sword and shield."

Mi-na tossed Link White Storm and then demonstrated her bow and Link took mental notes. It wasn't anything he wasn't unfamiliar with. When he was taught to fight, Link was always expected to bow to Impa before they sparred.

"All right, now here's how your stance has to be." Mi-na instructed. She demonstrated the proper starting stance.

Link tried to imitate it, but his footing wasn't exact.

"Good, but let's adjust your footing and posture a little bit." Mi-na spoke, being as nitpicky as possible.

Mi-na continued to instruct Link the best she could on how to fight Hwang. Because Link had learned so many different styles of fighting such as Goron Sumo, Zora kick boxing, Sheikah-Jitsu, Royal Knight, and so on, it was easy for him to learn a new style of fighting. It also helped that Mi-na was a good teacher. She concentrated on the basics and focused on making Link learn martial art patterns.

Mi-na sighed. "That was a good day's work, Link. Let's go back and get to bed. I'll probably be forced to find Hwang the day after tomorrow, so we'll need to get up tomorrow to work as hard as possible with the little time we have."

"Right." Link agreed.

Link and Mi-na spent the next day practicing and Link seemed ready to fight Hwang, or, at least, Mi-na hoped he was ready.

Mi-na followed Hwang as they left town. Mi-ha had her bag of supplies plus White Storm with her. It was Hell trying to convince Yun-Seong to give up the blade, but he wasn't given a choice. It wasn't his after all.

"Stop." Link ordered, stepping in front of Hwang, performing just as he had practiced. "I challenge you."

"Challenge me?" Hwang questioned. "Challenge me for what?"

"Mi-na." Link informed.

"Mi-na?" Hwang asked surprised. "Sorry, but I'm not here to fight anyone if I don't have to."

"No choice. She given to greatest warrior who most deserving. I challenge you for her as prize." Link spoke, hating every word that he was saying. He was taught to treat women as equals by his master, Impa, and as an honorary member of the Gerudo tribe, he had learned true respect for women. Saying such chauvinistic things was unlike him, but he was forced to do so for Raphael's plan to work.

"Wel,l in that case, you'll need a blade." Mi-na spoke. "Here you go." Mi-na tossed Link White Storm. Link caught it with ease.

"You planned this." Hwang accused Mi-na, looking back at her.

"What if I did? We are only following custom of our culture, Hwang. I suppose if you wish to forfeit this match, then I can always go with Link without a fight."

"Oh fine, I'll humor you." Hwang sighed, drawing his blade, Blue Storm. "Please remember sir, this is nothing personal against you."

"Of course." Link responded.

Both warriors bowed respectably to each other and began their battle. Because Hwang had trained under the same sensei as Yun-Seong, his moves were very similar to the teen's. This allowed Link to predict Hwang's attacks quite easily. However, unlike Yun-Seong, Hwang was still a student. Hwang was a master of the style, making this fight much harder than if it would have been against Yun-Seong.

Link slashed at the Korean warrior, but Hwang dodged the attack and began to rapidly slash at Link, causing the elf to continue doing back flips to dodge the attack. Link landed on his feet and slashed at Hwang, who jumped back from the attack.

'_This isn't going to be easy.'_ Link thought to himself. _'But if I can defeat a Goron sumo after only one day of learning the Goron style of fighting, then I can defeat this guy with his own style.'_

'_Who in the world is this guy?'_ Hwang wondered. _'He's trying to fight in the same style as I am, but it's so sloppy. On the other hand, I haven't been able to nick him.'_

"Time to finish this." Hwang announced. "Seong Style Longsword finishing strike!"

Hwang charged at Link and slashed upward at the young warrior. Link blocked the blow, but the mere force of the strike caused Link to be knocked into the air. Hwang jumped in the air after the warrior, slashed him four times, and then kicked him to the ground.

Link landed, causing dust and dirt to fly into the air.

"Link!" Mi-na cried.

"Relax." Hwang assured. "He still alive, but I doubt he'll be able to continue fighting."

"Wrong." Link corrected, walking out of the dust. He was badly bleeding and injured, but the wounds were nothing to him.

"H-how are you still standing?" Hwang gasped.

"Know your opponent." Link lectured. "You should know that."

"You're right, I should have." Hwang agreed. "No matter. I don't care how tough you are. There is no way you should be able to continue fighting very well with those injuries. This fight will soon be over."

"You're right." Link agreed smiling.

Link and Hwang ran towards each other to deliver their finishing blows. While running, Link switched his sword from his right to left hand. When Hwang slashed at Link this time, the young warrior dodged the attack and performed a quick spin attack towards the Korean's blade, slicing it in two.

Hwang was shocked, and Link quickly took advantage of the Korean man's reaction. Link grabbed Hwang's arm, tripped the Korean, and threw him to the ground, pointing his blade at the man's neck.

"I win." Link informed.

"Yes, you do." Hwang agreed. "I don't know how you managed, but you are truly an amazing warrior. I would have never guessed that you were left-handed by the way you were fighting with your right."

"Thank you." Link thanked the Korean, helping him to his feet. Both warriors once again bowed respectably to each other as Yun-Seong began to pack his horse.

"Well, Mi-na, you win." Hwang informed. "You get to stay here with your friends. This Link fellow better treat you right though. Otherwise, he'll have to deal with me. If you ever change your mind about this, let me know. Oh, and you can keep White Storm for a little while. It looks like you earned it and may need it in the future. I hope you return to Korea one day at your own free will. Have a good adventure."

Hwang galloped away, waving to Link and Mi-na as the two waved back.

"He seems like a nice person." Link informed Mi-na.

"He is." Mi-na admitted. "And if he would have just proposed to me nicely instead of Father forcing us into a marriage, I might have accepted. Come on and let's head back. I'm sure Yun-Seong will be happy to have his sword back. Oh, and Link?"

"Yes…"

Link was suddenly made speechless as Mi-na kissed him on the cheek, causing him to blush.

"Thanks for working so hard to help me out. And don't you dare tell anyone that I kissed you, especially not Talim."

"Why?" Link asked, as clueless as ever.

Mi-na laughed and began walking back to town. Still puzzled, Link followed and caught up with his friend.

**Hi readers, sorry for the long wait. College was heckteck the second half of the semester, so I didn't have time to write much. I just got done proofing some of my work and will try to post it quickly. Oh and don't worry, the story will go back to the main plot next chapter. This chapter was just for fun and character development. **


	30. Chapter 29 YunSeongs Greatest mistake

Ch. 29 Yun-Seong's Biggest Mistake

Yun-Seong sat outside with while Talim practiced her fighting against Mi-na. For some reason, Mi-na was a lot softer on Talim than she was on Yun-Seong, which made Yun-Seong grumpy.

"How long do you suppose Taki will be in bed?" Talim asked worriedly.

"Who knows?" Mi-na answered. "It's been a week, but with those injuries, I wouldn't be surprised if she is in bed for a month. She's lucky she wasn't killed."

"Yes, it was a good thing Link was there to save her." Talim spoke.

"Yeah, that hunk of a swordsman sure does save damsels in distress, doesn't he?" Mi-na teased Talim.

"Ye…yes." Talim stuttered with her words as she went pink.

"Talim, you're blushing." Mi-na continued to tease.

"Mi-na, stop." Talim begged.

"What's wrong? I mean, its not like you didn't see him bathing before."

"I told you I didn't see anything. He had already gone after Cassandra for stealing his weapon."

"Sure. Anyway, you'd better get him to like you before I do."

"What…bu-but you promised you wouldn't."

"Yeah, but we are engaged after all. If you don't make your move, I'm not going to let my chance just slide by."

"Will you two just shut up?" Yun-Seong exploded. "Seriously, all you can every talk about is how great Link is and how cute Link is! Seriously, the only reason he's a great warrior is because of all those stupid magic abilities he has. If I had a magic sword like him, I'd be way better."

Mi-na walked up and hit Yun-Seong across the head, but she hit him with much more force than she usually did.

"What did you do that for?"

"For being a complete ass." Mi-na informed. "And for going against everything that I've tried to teach you. A weapon doesn't make a warrior, a warrior makes weapon."

"Yeah, whatever." Yun-Seong snorted as he walked away from the two girls. _'I'm willing to bet that if I had that Master Sword or Soul Edge, not only would I have enough power to beat Link, but I'd also be able to stop the Japanese invasion of our country. Actually, come to think of it, Link's sword is left unprotected in Sophitia's children's room every night. What am I thinking? I can't steal someone else's sword! That would be completely dishonorable. But I could borrow it and use it to challenge Link. Then, when he pulls out his Great Fairy's Sword, I'll have a better magical weapon and win. Then I can give the sword back to Link and prove to Mi-na and Talim that I was right. Yeah, that's perfect." _

That night, when everyone had fallen asleep, Yun-Seong snuck into Patroklos and Pyrrha's room. Both children were sleeping soundly as the Master Sword seemed to radiate a blue light in the dark. Apparently, they liked the sword in their room because it served as a "nightlight."

"This is almost too easy." Yun-Seong thought as he approached the blade. As Yun-Seong tried to grab the handle of the blade, the sword zapped him.

"Ouch!" Yun-Seong hissed.

The Master Sword seemed to glow brighter as if it was reacting to Yun-Seong presence and was angered that he was trying to steal it.

"What's with this sword? Does it have a mind of its own or something?" Yun-Seong wondered. "No, that's impossible."

Yun-Seong suddenly found himself levitated off the floor as the door behind him opened.

"What the…" Yun-Seong hissed. "Yikes!" Yun-Seong shouted as he was shot out of the room like a cannon ball and smashed into the spot that he was sleeping. The door to the children's room was then locked and shut.

The noise woke everyone up, but when they checked, all they found was Yun-Seong sleeping where they had last seen him. They didn't realize that he was knocked out.

That morning, as Yun-Seong walked into Sophitia's house after getting some breakfast, he saw Link walking down the stairs carrying a fishing pole and net with Amy beside him.

"Where are you going?" Yun-Seong asked the Hylian.

"Fishing with Amy." Link replied. "Do you want to come?"

"No way." Yun-Seong answered rudely.

"O.K., see you later." Link waved as he and Amy left.

Yun-Seong noticed that as Link left, he forgot his sword or bag of items.

'_He doesn't have his magical crap or weapons with him. This is perfect chance to prove I'm right. I'll just take him down in a fist fight.'_

Yun-Seong followed Link to the river where he was helping Amy with a fishing wash.

"O.K., throw it back now." Link instructed. "Good. Now we wait for bite."

'_Now's my chance.' _Yun-Seong though. "Ya!" Yun-Seong yelled as he ran down the hill with his fist up, ready to punch Link.

Much to Yun-Seong surprise though, it wasn't Link who reacted, but Amy. The girl jumped up and struck Yun-Seong with the dull part of her blade, knocking the wind out of him. She then grabbed his arm and flipped him onto his back and pointed her blade at his neck.

"Don't bother getting up." Amy informed Yun-Seong in her emotionless voice that didn't sound at all like it belonged to a ten-year-old girl.

"Wow! You are getting good, Amy." Link complimented, walking up to Yun-Seong and offered him his hand. "You'd make good sparring partner for her."

"Don't act like I need your help, Link." Yun-Seong growled. He slapped his hand away and pushed Amy out of the way so he could get up. "Amy's just lucky I didn't have my blade with me or she would have been defeated, and don't think this is over."

Yun-Seong got up and stormed off.

Unfortunately for Yun-Seong, Mi-na found out what he had done and was furious. "So, let me get this straight. Once again, you attacked Link, but this time, his back was turned and he didn't have a weapon. So, you instead ended up fighting a ten-year-old girl?"

"How do you know that?" Yun-Seong accused.

"Please, it's not like people weren't present during the time. Word gets around, you know. Geez Yun-Seong, next thing I'll hear is that you were trying to steal Link's swords to use against him."

With that comment, Yun-Seong turned his head away from Mi-na, trying to hide the guilt in his eyes for doing such an activity last night. Mi-na caught on right away and became even more furious.

"Screw it." Mi-na growled. "Do what you want. I'm sick of trying to teach you to be a man."

Mi-na got up stormed out of the room, leaving a hurt Yun-Seong.

Talim was taking a walk down by the river when she noticed Yun-Seong staring blankly into the distance. The teen sat, quietly thinking about Mi-na's hurtful words.

Talim had heard what had happened with Yun-Seong, and even though she was angered by Yun-Seong's attitude, she also felt bad for him. He was always ganged up on and Mi-na was really hard on him.

"Hey, Yun-Seong. Are you O.K?" Talim asked as she approached the teenager.

Yun-Seong took his eyes off the river to see who was talking to him.

"Oh, it's just you, Talim." The teen stated, looking back into the distance.

"I heard what happened with Mi-na. You shouldn't try to challenge Link, Yun-Seong. Just because someone isn't a better fighter doesn't mean they are a better warrior." Talim lectured.

"Are you going to lecture me too, Talin?" Yun-Seong growled. "Because I'm kind of sick of hearing it all the time. Mi-na always treats me like a little kid and I'm sick of it."

"I understand that." Talim announced. "I'm always treated like a kid too."

"Talim, you are a kid."

"I am not." Talim argued, her face turning red. "I turned sixteen a couple of months ago."

"Yeah, well I'm going to be nineteen soon. How to you think I feel when I'm called a kid."

"Hey Yun-Seong, what are you holding?" Talim inquired. "It looks like a sword, but it isn't White Storm."

"Oh, this? Nothing." Yun-Seong lied.

"Oh, come on! Let me see it." The girl begged, trying to look over his shoulder and grab it. He quickly yanked it away from her.

"Fine." Talim sighed. "Anyway, I'm going to perform the wind ritual for Sophitia's children."

"Wait a minute. Isn't that the same ritual you attempted on those orphans when we used to travel together."

"Yes."

"But Talim, that ritual was deadly to you last time you performed it." Yun-Seong argued.

"I know." Talim assured. "That's why I didn't attempt it when I first found out about those children. But don't worry, I've been practicing a lot lately, and I think I can do it now."

"Well, if you say so." Yun-Seong sighed, "Good luck."

"Aren't you going to come and support me?" The girl asked.

"Not really." Yun-Seong informed, still sulking.

"Well, O.K. I guess." Talim sighed. "I'll see you later, Yun-Seong."

Yun-Seong looked down at the sword he held. It was shaped just like White Storm, but wasn't nearly as finely crafted. The blade was very dull, almost as if it was to prevent the wielder from accidentally cutting himself. The words "For Kids" was engraved on the blade. It had been a blade given to him by Mi-na when he had just been starting his apprenticeship under her father and failed one of his tests. Even though he would never admit it, he had a small crush on her at that time. Even though she always treated him like a child, she was one of the reasons he continued his training and didn't drop out of marital arts school.

Talim walked into the Patroklos and Pyrrha's room. She was dressed in formal wear that was more suited for a priestess.

"I will attempt to perform ritual now." Talim informed her audience.

Cassandra and Sophitia were present for the ritual. Link and Mi-na were also there to provide moral support to Talim.

"Link, please remove the Master Sword. We won't know whether the ritual will work or not if it's present."

"Are you sure about this?" Cassandra asked. "The Master Sword is the only thing keeping them healthy."

"Don't worry." Talim assured. "I've done this ritual before and know it works. However, I've never done it on a curse this strong."

As the only person who could lift the Master Sword, Link walked up and pulled the Master Sword out of the floor board and patted Talim on the shoulder.

"No worries, you can do it." Link assured.

"If this doesn't work, the Master Sword will still protect Patrokols and Pyrrha, right?" Sophitia asked worriedly.

"It should." Link replied.

"Mommy, I don't feel good." Patroklos began to whine, waking up from his nap.

"I know, honey." Sophitia assured. "Don't worry though; this little girl is going to make you all better."

Talim closed her eyes and began to concentrate on the spiritual energy around her.

"All right, its time." Talim announced. Talim walked around the children's bed, pouring powder to make a circle around them. She then removed a bowl of oil and lit it as she held the bowl and prayed. The priestess knelt and set the bowl of flames in front of her and began to pray and chant a spell.

"Oh, great and mercifully deity of the wind, I call upon your aid. Please purify these children of the wicked curse and lend them your strength. Wind of Purification!"

A gust of wind began to blow around the two small children. The wind appeared to phase into their body and enter Talim's. However, as the wind exited the children's body and entered Talim's, it was black and Talim was obviously in great pain as it entered her body. She gritted her teeth tightly and her whole body shook. Her face began to turn grey and her body went limp.

"Link, she's overdoing it." Mi-na announced. "Quickly, stop her!"

Link didn't have to be told twice. He was already running to Talim as he swept her off the ground. Link's sudden contact interrupted her concentration and caused the ritual to end.

"Why did you stop me?" Talim asked weakly. "I was almost there."

"If we let you continue, you would have died." Mi-na informed.

Link nodded in agreement. He had been trained to sense people's life-forces, and he could sense that Talim's body had been quickly diminishing during the ritual.

"But the children…" Talim argued.

"I'm afraid Link's sword will have to do for now." Sophitia sighed.

Link nodded in agreement and set his Master Sword down again, causing the children to instantly become healthy once more.

"I'm sorry." Talim apologized to Sophitia.

"It's O.K." Sophitia assured. "As much as I love my children, I could never expect you to kill yourself to save them. It just wouldn't be right. Also, too many people would grieve if you were taken from them."

"Yes, I suppose they would." Talim agreed weakly, having trouble talking.

"She needs rest." Link informed Sophitia, carrying the young priestess downstairs.

"Mommy, why did the girl stop?" Pyrrha asked. "It was making us feel better."

"Because she got to tired and couldn't continue." Sophitia told her children. "At least that sword will continue making you feel better."

"Yea, but we'd like to go outside and be able to play again." Patroklos told his mother.

"I know, Patroklos. So would I." Sophitia sighed as she hugged her children.

Link brought Talim downstairs and laid her down on the couch to rest.

"I'm sorry." Talim apologized.

"Hey, no one's blaming you." Mi-na tried to comfort the girl. "You tried your best and you were even able to go through great pain. You were quite courageous, unlike other people I know."

"Why aren't I courageous?" Link asked.

"I'm not talking about you, Link." Mi-na assured. "You're one of the most courageous people I know. I'm talking about a different young man who doesn't know when to quit."

Link just looked puzzled at Mi-na and shrugged.

"Hey, Link, could you please leave us alone for a few minutes?" Talim asked.

"O.K." Link answered, leaving the house.

"Mi-na, why are you so hard on Yun-Seong?" Talim asked.

"Because I know he can do a lot better than he performs." Mi-na informed. "Yun-Seong had the potential to become a better warrior than both Hwang and my father, but he's just obsessed with finding Soul Edge. He believes that to be a strong warrior, you need a strong weapon. He doesn't realize Soul Edge is evil. I know I'm hard on the kid, but I'm only trying to do what's best for him."

Yun-Seong was heading home when he sensed something weird coming from the alley. The young teen went to check it out when he noticed a mask shaped like a goat's head lying on the ground in the alleyway.

"What in the world is this?" Yun-Seong asked. He picked up the mask and looked at it. "It looks like those masks that the powerful demons left behind after they were killed. It's strange though, because I don't remember seeing a demon with this kind of mask. If it was destroyed in this city, people would have seen it and the city wouldn't have been in such good shape. I wonder how it got here."

'_Put it on.'_ Yun-Seong heard a female voice tell him.

"What? Who's there? Who is that?"

'_Oh, just consider me the little voice in your head that tells you what to do.' _

"Ha! I already have one voice doing that and she's more than enough." Yun-Seong snorted.

'_Oh, but I'm much different than Mi-na.'_ The voice explained. _'You see, unlike her, I want to help you succeed in being the best.'_

"Is that so?"

'_Why yes, it is. Now, come on and put the mask on. Show everyone that you're the best and use its power to defeat Link.'_

"Can I really become the best warrior with this?" Yun-Seong asked.

'_Of course. The only reason those demons were so powerful was due to these masks. They were nothing without them. Just imagine how powerful a great warrior like yourself will be with its might.' _

"Really? Is that true?"

'_I'm telling you the truth. Of course, if you don't want ultimate power, then leave the mask here. I thought you were a braver warrior, not a coward who's too scared to take a chance to succeed in life.' _

"I'm no coward, and if this is all I need to be able to be the best, then I'm taking the chance with it." Yun-Seong brought the mask to his face and put it on. Yun-Seong released a painful cry as lightening surged out of the mask and began to surround his body.

Link sensed something very wrong as he was sat outside Sophitia's house and waited for Talim and Mi-na to finish talking. The rest of the warriors, with the exception of Taki, who was still bedridden, ran out of the house with their weapons ready.

"A powerful and evil force has suddenly appeared." Talim informed. "I don't know how, but it somehow got into the town without anyone realizing it."

"I know." Mitsurugi informed. "While I was changing Taki's bandages, she suddenly sensed it as well."

"I see." Link responded. 'So, it's not just my imagination. But still, how did this thing suddenly appear without any of us realizing it?"

Link and the others suddenly saw a giant metal-like Minotaur with glowing red eyes filled with rage. The creature was easily as tall as a three-story building. Its body was covered in heavy metal and its feet and head were shaped like a goat's. Its large muscular chest and arms were shaped like a human's, and in its hand, it held a giant Korean blade.

People ran frantically around the street. Several soldiers tried to charge the monster, but with a single swing of its blade, it sent them all flying.

"Destroy all enemies!" The monster roared as it noticed Link. "Defeat enemy!"

The horns on the Minotaur creature began to glow as they shot a blast of lightning Link's direction.

Link drew his mirror shield and let the shield absorb the lightning. The shield then shot a blast of lightning towards the Minotaur, causing the Minotaur to skid backwards and fall on his back.

The creature released an angry roar and rose to its feet, incompletely unharmed.

"Destroy all enemies!" The creature yelled. "Show who is stronger!"

The Minotaur charged towards Link when a blast of blue crystals rose up from the ground and struck it, knocking it over.

"Are you O.K.?" A knight dressed in armor made of blue crystals asked. Behind the knight stood a monk, a pretty Chinese girl, and a Japanese pirate.

"Yes, thank you, Siegfried." Sophitia thanked him as she recognized the warriors.

"Siegfried?" Cassandra asked. "You know this man, Sophitia?"

"Yes, he's a friend of mine."

Siegfried walked next to Link.

"Don't worry." The knight assured the Hylian. "I'll take it from here."

Siegfried slashed his blade in the air, forcing a powerful blast of crystals to burst out of the blade and strike the monster, causing it to fly backwards and crash to the ground.

"Careful, people still around." Link warned.

"I know. That's why I'm holding back." Siegfried responded. "We need to find a way to get this thing out of the city so I can use my full power."

Link looked at the knight in crystal armor and then his blade.

'_What is this strange energy I feel from this man?'_ Link thought. _'It feels just like Soul Edge, but at the same time, the energy is the polar opposite of the energy that Soul Edge emits.'_

"There is something strange about this monster." Talim informed.

"What do you mean?" Mi-na asked.

"I sense a presence in it that is different from the other monsters. It's like there is someone trapped inside of it."

"What are you saying?" Mi-na asked. "That someone was stupid enough to get possessed by that thing? Wait a minute, where's Yun-Seong?"

"I stronger!" The monster roared, slashing at Link and ignoring Siegfried.

Link jumped over the monster, dodging its attack and shot a weak blast of flames out of his hand. The balls of flames hit the monster and exploded, but did no damage.

Edge Master watched the battle from the top of a building when Sheik appeared next to him.

"This better not be one of your plans." Sheik informed. "I don't care who it benefits. Too many people are getting hurt."

"I would never try to teach a lesson with this much destruction involved." Edge Master informed. "The enemy made a move I never expected. If I had known this was going to happen, I would have arrived earlier. I'm surprised you aren't helping Link."

"My presence would only distract him." Sheik informed. "I wish I knew how to remove that demon's curse. For once, I am stumped."

"Don't worry, Kilik will take care of it. If not, I'll use his staff to cure the curse myself." Edge Master assured."

"That blade." Mi-na suddenly realized. "That blade looks like White Storm and the way the creature is acting is too weird. It only wants to beat Link in battle."

"Kilik, Xianghua, Maxi." Siegfried commanded the warriors. "Make sure everyone is in a safe location. I'm going to need to use more destructive powers if I am to defeat this thing."

"Wait." Mi-na interrupted. "You can't kill that thing. There's a person inside it."

"A person?" Siegfried asked surprised.

"Yeah, and I think it's Yun-Seong." Mi-na informed.

"Yun-Seong?" Cassandra asked in shock.

"Yeah, that would make sense." Talim announced. "That's why I'm sensing such a familiar presence in the monster."

"Don't kill him." Mi-na instructed Siegfried. "I'll take care of this."

Siegfried looked at Mi-na then looked at the monster that was swinging at the Link. Most warriors would have said absolutely not and would kill the monster. However, Siegfried was different. He understood what it was like to make a mistake. He knew what it was like to be possessed by a monster to be made to do things against your will. In a way, he could sympathize with Mi-na, and even though Yun-Seong's actions couldn't be excused, he understood why the monster shouldn't be killed.

"Very well." Siegfried agreed and stepped away from the monster to let Mi-na handle it.

Link dodged the Minotaur's attacks with ease, but not a single one of his attacks could pierce the monster's armor. Of course, Link was also holding back. He knew there were still too many people around for him to use his full power.

Mi-na released a yell as she charged towards the monster. She leapt into the air and struck it on the head with her weapon.

"That should knock some sense into you!" Mi-na yelled at the creature. She now had its full attention.

"Destroy all enemies!" The creature yelled. It swiped at Mi-na, who dodged the attacked.

Mi-na struck the monster in the head with her weapon, but the attack didn't even faze the creature.

"I know you weren't perfect!" Mi-na yelled at the monster, dodging another attack. "You were always acting immature and foolish." Mi-na once again charged the monster to deliver another blow. "But I never doubted once that you were a good person!"

Mi-na tried to attack the monster once again but was grabbed by the creature's free hand. Mi-na was smashed into the ground by the giant hand. The monster grasped Mi-na and held her above him, squeezing the life out of the Korean woman.

"I've had enough of this!" Kilik announced jumped at the mountain. "I will purify this monster myself."

Kilik landed a purifying blow into the monster's chest, but the monster's thick armor protected it.

"What? Nothing happened!" Kilik gasped. The monk was knocked aside by the Minotaur monster as if he was just an insect and he smashed into a building.

"Kilik!" Xianghua cried. Xianghua was about to charge the monster, but Siegfried stopped her.

"Wait." The knight held Xianghua by grasping his arms around her waist and lifting her few inches off the ground. "Let Mi-na do this."

"You need to do something now." Sheik ordered Edge Master.

"Do you really think so? Look at the monster." Edge Master instructed.

Sheik looked at the monster and to see what Edge Master saw. The creature had Mi-na trapped in its grips. Mi-na had her teeth clenched as her body was squeezed, but for the some reason, the monster wasn't finishing her off like it so easily could. It just continued to look at her.

Link pointed his blade at the monster and was about to strike when Sheik teleported in front of him in a puff of smoke.

"Sheik!" Link gasped in Hylian.

"I'll explain later. Just hold on. I think something is happening." Sheik instructed.

"So tell me, Yun-Seong, you always said you wanted to become strong so you could protect our country from the Japanese invasion." Mi-na coughed. "You claimed that you fought for justice. Tell me, Yun-Seong, is this what you call justice?" Mi-na finally fell unconscious with a single tear sliding down her face into the monster's eye. The monster's eyes changed from glowing red to glowing blue.

"Mi-na?" The monster asked in Yun-Seong's voice. It looked at the unconscious woman in his hand. "What have I…"

Lightning shot out of the beast's horns into its body as the mask tried to take control of Yun-Seong's mind once again. The monster dropped Mi-na and began to pull at his face, roaring in pain. The monster fell to the ground and began to punch his face as he continued to pull at it. Finally, the monster drew his blade and stabbed his own face and began to cut his face like it was a mask.

In a flash of light, the goat head shaped mask fell to the ground and Yun-Seong was back to normal. He kneeled next to Mi-na and sobbed.

"Mi-na, I'm so sorry." Yun-Seong sobbed. "I'm so sorry."

"It's not over yet." Sheik warned, looking at the mask. "That thing is radiating too much energy to be defeated."

Sheik was right. The mask began to glow as it grew and shadows began to form around it. The shadows took the form of a giant goat and soon a new opponent appeared. The monster was a giant mechanical goat, the mask's true form.

"You!" Yun-Seong hissed at the goat monster. "You used me to try to kill Link and made me hurt Mi-na."

The mechanical goat released a monstrous roar and shot blasts of lightning out of its horns.

Link, Siegfried, Kilik, Mitsurugi, and Xianghua blocked the lightning attacks with their weapons while the other members of the group jumped out of the way of the lightning attacks. The only person who couldn't dodge was Mi-na, who was still unconscious.

"Mi-na!" Yun-Seong cried, seeing a blast of lightning heading toward his friend.

Yun-Seong quickly jumped in front of Mi-na and allowed the lightning bolt to hit his back. Yun-Seong screamed in pain when the lightening hit him. The blast caused him to fall to his knees and lean on his blade for support.

"You bastard!" Yun-Seong roared. He charged towards the mechanical monster. Yun-Seong struck his blade against the mechanical goat's head, but the attack didn't even faze the beast. With a single swing of its head, it sent Yun-Seong tumbling to the ground. Yun-Seong rose to his feet and again jumped towards the monster to attack. The monster swung its horns towards Yun-Seong, who blocked the blow with his blade. The blow from the horns had so much force that it caused Yun-Seong's blade to break.

"What the?" Yun-Seong gasped.

Once again, the monster knocked Yun-Seong to the ground.

"Rising Dragon of the Zodiac Kick!" Maxi yelled, striking the side of the creature with all of his might.

"Take this!" Xianghua yelled, firing a large blue bubble of energy out of her blade towards the monster.

Neither attack seemed to even scratch the monster's steel skin.

"What the Hell?" Maxi swore.

A compartment on the mechanical creature's back opened up as it fired several bombs. The bombs zoomed through the air and struck several buildings, causing debris to fall on the warriors.

"Everyone get down!" Kilik yelled as the warriors covered their heads with their hands.

Yun-Seong quickly covered Mi-na with his body to protect her when a large barrier surrounded everyone, protecting them from the tumbling bricks and wood.

"Link." Yun-Seong realized who saved him and Mi-na. Link's Triforce marking was glowing while he had created the barrier. Creating a barrier around a single person was easy, but creating a barrier around everyone had taken more energy.

Siegfried dug Soul Calibur into the ground, causing a power blast of crystals to form around the goat monster, encasing it in an icicle-like prison.

"That should do it." Siegfried announced. "Those crystals are harder than diamonds."

However, the crystals began to crack as the creature burst out of its prison.

"But how?" Siegfried gasped.

"Link, I think its time to use some brute strength." Sheik suggested.

"Right." Link agreed as his tunic transformed into its Goron mode. Link's Goron mode looked exactly like his Zora armor, except the blue portion was replaced by red and the symbols of the Zora were replaced by the symbols of the Goron. Instead of fins for boots, Link's boots were made from a powerful, but light-weight, steel and his gauntlets transformed into the Golden Gauntlets.

The goat creature charged towards Link. Link caught the creature by the horns and skidded back several feet, but he activated his iron boots, which allowed him to get his footing. Link tipped the giant creature onto its side. Link deactivated his iron boots and ran towards the creature.

"Goron Punch!" Link yelled as fire surrounded his fist. He leapt at the mechanical monster and punched it in the face. Link's attack was able to dent the monster's hard armor, but there was still no damage.

"Sir Knight, I have idea." Link informed Siegfried.

"What?" Siegfried asked.

"We lure it out of town. I can make a hole in monster's armor using all my power, and then you use crystal attack to defeat it."

"Got it." Siegfried agreed.

Link delivered another Goron Punch to the creature's face, irritating it and causing it to chase Link as he led it out of town. Luckily, most of the people had evacuated to the temple, hoping their gods would protect them. This made Link less worried as the creature plowed through buildings, but he still wished to cause as little damage to the town as possible.

Link led the creature out of town and began to call upon his full power.

"Megaton Hammer!" Link summoned as a large hammer appeared in his hand. Link focused his magic into the hammer, causing it to increase in size and flames to surround it. Link struck the monster with the hammer, causing a large dent in the creature's armor and forcing it on its side. Link then struck the large dent with his hammer, causing the armor the crack.

"Goron Punch!" Link yelled, punching the cracked armor. Link jumped away from the goat, panting from using so much of his strength.

"Now Sir Knight." Link instructed.

Siegfried jumped onto the mechanical goat monster and dug his blade into the hole in its body. Siegfried released a powerful blast from Soul Calibur into the creature as the blade's magic began to crystallize the creature from the inside. Crystal began to burst through the metallic creature's shell form the inside, destroying it.

"Get down!" Link yelled, as both Siegfried and Link ran from the beast as it exploded into several pieces of metal. The goat shaped mask flew through the air after the explosion and landed in Link's hands. Link looked at the mask carefully, trying to sense if there was still evil inside. After the monster's defeat, there didn't seem to be much evil left, but Link knew he'd have to be careful just in case.

Link put the mask in his bag that contained the pieces of Soul Edge.

"We need to get back to the others." Siegfried informed.

"Right." Link agreed.

Mi-na woke up later that evening, bandaged and lying in a bed in the same room as Taki.

"Well, at least now I have a roommate." Taki snorted.

Mi-na looked down to see Yun-Seong asleep. He sat in a chair next her bed and his head rested at the edge of Mi-na's bed as she snored.

"The boy hasn't left your side." Taki informed.

Yun-Seong awoke and saw Mi-na staring at him.

"Mi-na!" Yun-Seong suddenly jumped up, tears beginning to form in his eyes. "I'm so, so sorry."

"You know, Yun-Seong." Mi-na began to lecture. "A real man doesn't cry about his mistakes. He learns from them."

Yun-Seong suddenly ceased his sobbing and looked at Mi-na.

"Harsh words, but they are true." Siegfried spoke, walking up next to Yun-Seong. "Many people in our group of heroes have made terrible mistakes in the past. Some of us can't completely be blamed for them, while some of us can. The only way to make up for these mistakes is through redemption. I don't know how you plan to redeem yourself, but I will tell you this, out of all us, your mistakes were not the worst."

After speaking, Siegfried left the room.

"All right." Yun-Seong began. "I will redeem myself, and I'll start by taking care of you Mi-na. I'll change your bandages, cook your breakfast…"

"Actually, Yun-Seong, a better way for you to redeem yourself would be to help with the reconstruction of the houses you destroyed and then train to become the true warrior you want to be. And besides," Mi-na began to laugh, "Your cooking sucks."

"It does not." Yun-Seong began to argue.

Edge Master walked outside the village when Sheik appeared in front of him.

"I'm surprised you're not with Link." Edge Master smiled.

"I vanished after the battle. It is not yet time for me to speak to him in person. I had a few questions for you first." Sheik informed.


	31. Chapter 30 Time to Heal

Ch. 30 Time To Heal

Yun-Seong charged towards Link with his child's sword, only to be blocked by Link's fishing net.

"You're open!" Link informed. He struck Yun-Seong in the stomach and caused him to fall onto his back.

"Ouch." Yun-Seong moaned. "I think I should go back to just trying to sneak attack you. You're more brutal now since I asked you to help me become a better warrior."

"When you sneak attacked me, I put minimal effort in defeating you because there was no reason to win. Now you want me to help you become a better warrior so you can protect those you love. To do that, I must be brutal."

"O.K." Yun-Seong sighed and rose back to his feet. He attacked Link with his dull sword some more. Link blocked his moves with ease.

"Open." Link instructed as he hit the teen on the side. "Open." He announced again as he struck Yun-Seong on the back. "Open." Link stabbed Yun-Seong in the stomach with his net and caused the teen to fall on his back once more.

"Must get up." Link instructed. "When fighting for loved ones, you must always get up and fight more. Fight until you die if it means protecting loved ones."

"I know." Yun-Seong grunted. He pulled himself back to his feet, and staggered to try to keep his numb body balanced. "You've told me this before."

Yun-Seong then fell down from exhaustion.

"Enough for today." Link recognized that he had pushed the young warrior to his limits. "Maybe you should help rebuild houses?"

"That's actually a good idea." Yun-Seong panted. He never thought he'd see the day when he'd actually look forward to doing manual labor, but Link's sparring matches were so tough, building an entire brick house by hand seemed easy compared to having to fight the Hylian hero.

"Here you go." Link pulled out a shovel from his bag and tossed it to Yun-Seong.

"Geez, Link, what don't you keep in that bag?"

Link just shrugged. He had so much equipment in his bag; even he couldn't keep track of what he had.

While Yun-Seong went to help rebuild the houses, Link headed back to Sophitia's house to see how her two children were doing. Once Link entered the house, he saw the Chinese Monk who had introduced himself as Kilik with Talim sitting besides him, trying to imitate him. Once Talim had discovered that Kilik was from the Ling-Sheng Su monks, she instantly began to admire him and would mimic some of his actions. Cassandra sat on the couch and appeared to be grouchy for some reason. Link couldn't help but wonder if she had gotten into another fight with her older and more skilled sister. The Chinese girl that Link had met the other day popped her head out from behind a door.

"Oh hey, you're back from your training." The girl greeted as she began to flirt with Link. "We didn't introduce ourselves properly. My name's Xianghua. It means firewood fragrant flower. You know, while you were fighting, I didn't get a chance to notice how cute you were. Tell me, what's your name?" Xianghua put her arms around Link's arm flirtatiously.

"Umm, Link." Link answered, awkwardly, blushing.

Cassandra, Talim, and Kilik looked at Xianghua in utter shock. Cassandra had gone red in the face with rage, just as she did when anyone tried to flirt with Link.

"Link, is it? Well, that's a perfect name for someone like you." Xianghua giggled. The girl then leaned into Link's ear to whisper. "I'm trying to make Kilik jealous, so just play along."

"Um…O.K." Link replied, utterly confused.

"Well, I'll see you around, Link." Xianghua gave Link a kiss and then ran out of the house. "Bye bye, Link."

"I'm going to kill her!" Cassandra roared. She was about to chase after Xianghua and attack the girl, but Kilik and Talim jumped up and grabbed her.

"Hold on, it's just Xianghua." Kilik assured. "She can be very flirtatious with guys. Don't worry; she'll stop soon if you just ignore it."

"My goodness, what is all this ruckus?" Raphael asked, stepping into the living room.

"I'll never understand women." Link announced.

"Welcome to the club, my dear fellow." Raphael chuckled. He gave Link a pat on the back. "Say, where did your other comrade go, Kilik?"

"You mean Sheik." Kilik guessed. "I have no idea."

"No worries." Link assured everyone. He remembered how Sheik had a tendency of disappearing and reappearing out of the blue. "Sheik comes and goes when needed. She just fine."

"She?" Kilik asked. "I thought Sheik was a guy."

"Oh yeah, funny me." Link pretended to laugh. "Of course, Sheik was a guy."

"You mean is." Talim corrected Link's grammar.

"Yes, is a guy." Link responded, happy that Talim's grammar correction had given him a way to change the subject.

"So, we have multiple villains trying to claim Soul Edge." Sheik spoke to Edge Master.

"Yes." Edge Master responded. "Although, they don't appear to be enemies right now, I doubt these two groups are allies either. As we both know, Strife was just a pawn of Shadow's master, who must want Soul Edge and perhaps also Soul Calibur to rule the world."

"Do you think that the combined forces of Soul Calibur, the Master Sword, and the Magic Sword will be enough to defeat both of our enemies?"

"Unfortunately, the Magic Sword's power can't compare against the other three spirit swords. The Master Sword, Soul Edge, and Soul Calibur all have the spirits of deities in them. The Magic Sword only has the spirit of its blacksmith in it. Even though that blacksmith was a very powerful magic user, his blade can't compare against the Master Sword, the blade that he modeled the Magic Sword after. However, Xianghua will still be an important asset to the team now that she has nearly mastered that sword's power. Also, in the end, Soul Calibur may be just as much of a threat as Soul Edge."

"What do you mean?" Sheik asked.

"If you spoke to Taki about this, she would probably agree with me. Soul Edge, as we know, is a demonic blade who's only purpose is to spread chaos and darkness across the universe. Soul Calibur was created to stop Soul Edge. However, the creature of Soul Calibur made one grave mistake. Even though Soul Calibur is a holy spirit sword, it was created for the soul purpose of destroying another item. A blade whose sole purpose is to destroy can never be truly good or evil. It is possible that the spirit of Soul Calibur is capable of manipulating its user's emotions to attain its goals, which is to destroy Soul Edge. Soul Calibur is also capable of being turned into a daemon blade."

"But I've only sensed purity from Soul Calibur."

"Yes, but keep in mind that before you arrived, Soul Calibur was almost corrupted by Soul Edge. When Xianghua defeated Inferno using the powers of Soul Calibur, both Soul Calibur and Soul Edge were trapped in the void, or as we call that land, the Sacred Realm, or Dark World, as it has become now. The spirit of Soul Edge, Inferno, and the Spirit of Soul Calibur, Crystal, fought when they were trapped in the sacred realm. Inferno was able to win the fight, reducing Soul Calibur to a normal blade and almost corrupted Crystal. In turn, Inferno's power diminished to almost nothing, as you probably noticed when you met Siegfried. If peace is to ever be restored to the land, both swords must be destroyed."

"Of course, to destroy one thing, its polar opposite must be destroyed." Sheik stated. "Does that mean the Master Sword can be corrupted?"

"I do not believe so. When the Master Sword was created, it was created for the sole purpose of protecting the world against evil. It was not created to be an instrument of war or destruction. The spirit of the Master Sword is pure good. In the end, I believe it will have to be the thing that destroys both blades."

"Very well." Sheik agreed.

"Right now, we still need Soul Calibur, so keep our conversations secret. When the time needs be, I'll instruct everyone on what to do. Take this with you." Edge Master tossed Sheik a small glowing blue sword.

"This is a part of the Holy Stone. It was an invention the original sages helped me create to bring to this world. Its design allows it to purify nearly anything of evil corruption. However, because the stone is in shards now, they will gradually lose their power through use. I'm not going to tell you how or when to use this, because I have a feeling you'll know."

"Yes, I believe I understand." Sheik informed. "I may not see you again, Master Swift Blade, but I am honored to have met you and thank you for your assistance."

"Don't thank me; it'll be Link who saves this world."

Edge Master then vanished in a puff of smoke.

Sheik appeared in front of Sophitia's house and knocked on the door three times before Cassandra opened it.

"Oh yeah, you're that Sheik guy." Cassandra commented. "Come on in."

"Sheik," Link suddenly jumped up.

"Yes, it's good to see you too, Link." Sheik greeted.

"So, how do you two know each other?" Talim asked.

"Link and I come from the same world." Sheik explained. "We are childhood friends and war buddies, but enough of that. It is time that I reveal who I truly am. Is everyone present?"

"Raphael is missing, and he'll be gone until morning." Cassandra informed.

"Then I'll continue without him. Please, call everyone down." Sheik informed.

"Hey everyone, get in here!" Cassandra shouted.

Everyone, including the still-injured Taki and Mi-na ,who were helped by Mitsurugi and Yun-Seong, entered the room.

"All will be explained." Sheik informed. He held up his left hand, revealing the gold glowing triangles on it.

"Cover your eyes." Link suggested, as everyone covered their eyes from a bright flash of light.

Once everyone opened their eyes again, they saw a beautiful elf woman with brown hair and dressed in clothes of royalty standing in front of them. All the men's mouths seemed to gap open when they saw this woman.

"Oh my god! Sheik is a she!" Maxi yelled. "We've been traveling with a girl this hot and we didn't know! Siegfried, you were roommates with Sheik. Didn't you ever realize?"

"N-n-no." Siegfried stuttered. "Although, that would explain why Sheik would always asked us to change in separate rooms."

"You knew, didn't you, Link?" Maxi spoke.

"Yes." Link replied.

"There is very little that Link and I keep from each other." Zelda informed. "I'm sorry that I couldn't reveal myself to you sooner. Please allow me to introduce myself. I am Princess Zelda of Hyrule."

"Pri-princess!" Everyone stuttered.

"Well, technically, I'm now the Queen of Hyrule, but everyone still calls me Princess. Link, I brought a gift for you." Zelda pulled a bottle of milk out of her bag and tossed it to Link.

Link cheered happily in Hylian. "All right. I haven't had any good milk since I arrived in this world. Thank you so much, Zelda."

Link was about to open the milk and drink it when Zelda stopped him.

"Not so fast. This milk isn't the regular Lon-Lon Milk that you're used to drinking." Zelda informed in Hylian. "This milk is called Cremia Milk. It's a new kind of milk from Malon's ranch that has just been manufactured. Drinking half a bottle of it will have a similar effect of drinking a blue potion, except that it will temporarily enhance your magical abilities."

"Sounds like Grandma's homemade soup."

"Your grandmother was one of the people who helped form the formula for making this." Zelda informed.

"Well, tell her and Malon thanks."

"I will, but Malon insists her payment will be a kiss from you when you return."

Link sighed. "So be it."

"What are they saying?" Talim asked, not understanding a word of Hylian.

"I think that's Link's girlfriend and they're catching up on old times." Maxi guessed.

"What? But Link said he doesn't have a girlfriend. He's only engaged to several women." Talim tried to argue.

"Look, if I knew a girl as hot as that, I sure wouldn't be just friends with her." Maxi informed.

"Link may not understand everything your saying, but I can Maxi." Zelda warned, silencing the pirate. "Link and I are not romantically involved with one another. I'm sorry, but I had to explain to Link how to use this milk properly and what his payment would have to be in Hylian so he clearly understood. Now Sophitia, I heard two of your children are ill?"

"Why yes." Sophitia commented.

"Will you please bring them to me?"

"Um, O.K." Sophitia agreed, leading Zelda into her children's room.

"Link, remove the Master Sword."

"But I've already tried purifying the children." Talim informed. "So has Link. Nothing seems to work."

"No worries, Talim." Link assured. "Princess is smart."

Link walked up to the blade and removed it.

"All right, its time." Zelda knelt next to the sleeping children and held the blue crystal Edge Master had given her.

"A shard of the purifying crystal." Kilik noticed what Zelda held.

"Yes, a gift from your master, Kilik." Zelda replied.

Zelda held the stone over the children as her Triforce mark began to glow. The power of Zelda's Triforce and the sacred stone combined caused the children's faces to return to normal.

"It actually worked." Sophitia gasped.

After her spell had been cast, Zelda fell to the floor. Link quickly caught her and supported her in his arms.

"Princess." Link spoke worriedly.

"I'm fine, Link." Zelda assured. "Breaking that curse took a lot out of me. I can only use so much magic in this world before I'm drained of my energy and have to return to Hyrule. That was the last bit of magic I had, and I need to return to our world to recharge. The rest is up to you." The Hylian princess then lifted her head and spoke to Siegfried. "Siegfried, in the end, I have faith that you'll find redemption." The princess then vanished in several sparkles of gold light.

"Man, she's gone and I didn't even get to ask her out." Maxi whined.

Link had a worried expression on his face. Why could Zelda only use so much magic before she vanished, and was she really O.K?

"You need not worry about your princess, Link. She'll be fine." Edge Master stood in the doorway with his arms crossed and observed the scene.

"Master." Kilik and Mi-na spoke together.

"Elder." Talim spoke as well. All three of the warriors bowed to Edge Master respectfully. They looked at each other and asked at once, "You were trained by my sensei?"

Edge Master couldn't help but chuckle from the reactions his presence had on everyone.

"Yes, I've trained several people in my lifetime. Link, meet me outside. I need to speak to you alone." Edge Master turned and left the room, leaving everyone a little surprised.

"Mommy, what happened to the blade?" Pyrrha asked.

"Its owner took it back." Sophitia informed, sitting on the bed and stroking her daughter's hair. "Now that you're all better, we no longer need it."

"Does that mean we can finally go outside and play?" Patroklos asked.

"Why yes, it does." Sophitia informed. She grabbed her children and tickled them.

Link left the house and found Edge Master standing outside, waiting for him. The two began to converse in Hylian.

"Were you the one who gave her that crystal?" Link asked.

"Yes." Edge Master informed.

"She said she could only use so much magic before she would be forced to leave." Link informed. "How come?"

"It was a condition she had to make with Zephos before she was allowed to come here. I don't know why, but he wanted to keep her out of this world. I think he worried that she'd be a target of Soul Edge and our other enemies."

"I see."

"Link, have you been training to fight Soul Edge like I told you to."

"A little bit, but I haven't had much time. Every time I turn around, there's a new enemy."

With that reply, Edge Master smacked Link on top of the head with the dull portion of his blade.

"Ouch, what was that for?" Link whined. "You're as bad as Impa."

"Who do you think Impa learned it from?" Edge Master reminded. "Now Link, what do you know about Soul Calibur?"

"Not much." Link admitted. "It has a similar aura to Soul Calibur, yet radiates the opposite energy. It is very strange."

"Does that worry you at all?" Edge Master hinted.

"A little. Are you suggesting I might need to destroy it as well?"

"Possibly. In the end, for one force to be eliminated, its polar opposite must also be destoryed. Soul Calibur is the opposite of Soul Edge…"

"Therefore, for Soul Edge to be destroyed, so must Soul Calibur."

"Bingo." Edge Master stated. "So, have you figured out who I really am yet?"

"I've narrowed it down, but not quite yet." Link covered his head with his hands, expecting to be hit again.

"It's not worth hitting you for that."Edge Master opened the door to Sophitia's house. Everyone except Taki and Mitsurugi fell forward.

"Kilik, Xianghua, Mi-na! What have I told you about listening to private conversations?" Edge Master lectured.

"Sorry, sensei." They apologized together.

"Taki and Mitsurugi? You two can stop spying on me from the shadows." Edge Master yelled towards an alley.

"Damn he's good." Mitsurugi whispered to Taki. The two of them had been able to sneak out of the house from the back, and hid, but it appeared not even Taki's ninja skills could escape Edge Master's keen senses.

"I need to leave for a while. Remember to keep training."

As always, Edge Master threw a Deku Seed and vanished.

**Author's note**

**O.K, quick explanation since people are probably wondering why Link couldn't cure the children with his Triforce but Zelda could. **

**As most Zelda fans know, each Triforce represents a different virtue: power, wisdom, and courage. Therefore each Triforce gives/enhances different abilities. **

**Link abilities: Without his Triforce's assistance, Link is already a master warrior who is much stronger and faster than a normal person, and has been well-trained in combat magic. Note: He does know some basic healing techniques, but they're for healing wounds or restoring energy, not for healing curses or other ailments. Link's Triforce of Courage enhances these abilities, giving him far greater strength, speed, and magical attacks. His Triforce also enhances his weapons, helps fuel his magic armor, and provides major protection against curses. When Link uses his full power, he turns into his knight form with the gold magic armor, gold sword, mirror shield, and magic cape**

**Zelda's abilities: All Hylians know some sort of magic, and the Royal Family possesses some of the most powerful spell casters in all of Hyrule. For someone so young, Zelda shows great wisdom and is well-trained in diverse magic, including offensive, defensive, psychic, and healing abilities. She's also a master of disguise and well-trained in ninjitsu. Her Triforce of Wisdom increases her magical and shape-changing abilities, her speed in battle, and gives her greater knowledge of the present and future events. She can also use her Triforce abilities to fire nearly an unlimited supply of light arrows at lightning speed. When Zelda uses her full power she can…well, you'll have to wait and see if it happens or not. **

**Ganondorf/Ganon's abilities: Even before claiming the Triforce of Power, Ganondorf was one of the most powerful men in the world. He was a master swordsman and one of the greatest sorcerers of his time. The Triforce of Power grants Ganondorf god-like abilities. His magic and strength surpass that of any mortal, and he also receives a speed boost (although not as much as Link and Zelda's). Ganondorf's is nearly invincible, unable to be harmed by any mortal means and has found ways to bend the rules of life and death in his favor. When Ganondorf uses his full power, he becomes Ganon, a creature even stronger than his human form. **


	32. Chapter 31 Set Up

Ch. 31 The Set Up

Bandits rode around the town, terrorizing its citizens.

"Rob their houses, kill the men, and take the women." The leader of the bandits ordered. He appeared to be an old man with a long white air, but his power was great.

"It seems that no matter what time or world I'm in, some things don't change." The white-cloaked man spoke as he walked into the village towards the bandits.

"Who are you?" The leader of the bandits asked.

"No one you need to be concerned with. I came to entertain myself with you fools." The white-cloaked man chuckled.

"Entertain yourself?" The leader growled. "You don't know who you're dealing with." He turned to two of his men. "Miser, Greed, get the men and kill this bastard."

All the bandits drew their weapons and began to charge towards the figure. The leader of the bandits, Miser, Greed, and two other members had pieces of Soul Edge with them, enhancing their powers and making them even more crazed. The white-cloaked figure just chuckled and shot a power blast of lightning out of his hand, killing every one of the bandits in a single attack.

The man's hand began to glow and the shards of Soul Edge flew into his hand.

"Is there something I can do for you, Shadow?" The white-hooded figure asked.

I want him dead." Shadow hissed, his whole body shaking with fury.

"All in due time." The white-cloaked man informed calmly.

"No more waiting. I'm sick of these sneaky plans that end in failure. I want to go after him myself and I want to kill him!" Shadow snapped.

"I see. Well, I suppose this is how you were created. Take these then." The man tossed Shadow the shards of Soul Edge. "Add these to the ones that you have already obtained. With them, you can kill him."

Rothion worked late into the night on an important project for one of his customers when he finally sat down and take a small break. Everyone was already asleep, and despite Sophitia's lecturing him to come to bed with her, he insisted on finishing the job.

The middle-aged smith sat in his chair and began to close his eyes. Unknowing to the blacksmith, there was a blue spiritual being floating behind him.

The spiritual being looked just like man. It was large and muscular, wore heavy armor, and carried a sword and shield. The spiritual being flew into the smith, and Rothion suddenly felt energized again.

The smith rose and began to work furiously on his work, melting down the metal, hammering it into place, and cooling it.

Link was sleeping soundly in the tree next to Sophitia's house, just as he did every night. When everyone first found out that he did this, they tried to find a way to convince him to sleep indoors until he finally informed them that he preferred being as close to nature as possible and liked being outside, underneath the stars. During the evening, Patroklos Pyrrha, had tried to "camp" with the Hylian hero, but Sophitia insisted they sleep indoors because the nights were chillier during the fall.

As Link slept, a cool breeze blew across Link, waking him. Normally Link wasn't affected by the weather or temperature due to his various travels, but this wind carried a message from Zephos for Link to wake up and be alert.

Link stood up, trying to sense if there was any evil around him. It was then that he noticed a strong spiritual force coming from Sophitia's house. Link followed the spiritual force to the downstairs, where he saw Rothion working vigorously at the smith.

'_Something weird is in here.'_ Link thought. "Rothion."

Rothion jumped in surprise as if he had been in some trance. Link then noticed a blue spirit fly out of his body and vanish.

"Yes, what is it, Link?" Rothion asked.

"Why are you up so late?" Link asked.

"Oh me?" Rothion asked. "I'm trying to finish this project."

Link looked at the object on the wall that Rothion was working on. "You good smith." Link complimented.

"Thanks." Rothion replied with a yawn. "Now if you'll excuse me, I think I'll get back to work."

Link just nodded and went back outside to take a nap.

The next day, Sophitia, Cassandra, Link, and Pyrrha, and Patroklos headed towards the Temple in Athens. Patroklos held his mother and aunt's hands while Pyrrha held her mother and Link's hand.

"Why do we have to go to the temple to give worship again?" Cassandra began to whine.

"Because we need to give thanks for Pyrrha and Patroklos' recovery." Sophitia responded.

"Give thanks?" Cassandra exploded. "Sophitia, the gods did nothing to help us! It was Link and his princess who did all the work. The gods sat on their butts and watched you suffer, just as they always have. If we should pay thanks to anyone, it should be to…"

"Cassandra, you're making a scene." Sophitia began to lecture her sister.

"Sophitia, does this town have lots of gods?" Link asked curiously as he saw a female spirit with a bow and arrow flying around.

"Yes. We worship twelve gods in Athens; Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Zephos, Hermes, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, and Hestia. The most common worshipped god in Athens is Athena, of course. Our family is also worships of Hephaestus, so he will bring greatness to my husband's craft."

"I still don't see why you continue worshiping those gods." Cassandra grunted.

"What's wrong with the gods?" Link asked.

"Where do I start?" Cassandra asked. "Oh, I know. Ares."

"Ares?" Link asked.

"Yeah, Ares. The good for nothing god of war. He and his followers created a golem in the Temple of Ares a few years ago. Once that thing broke lose, it caused mayhem all over the city. Luckily, Sophitia and I were able to send it packing."

"You defeated?" Link asked. He was astonished that Cassandra was able to defeat a golem.

"She more or less distracted it for me so that I could deliver the final blow." Sophitia informed.

"Hey, when I showed up, that thing was about to finish you off. You're lucky I came to help."

"Yes sister." Sophitia agreed with an edge to her voice. "But keep in mind, after that incident, Ares' temple was destroyed and his priests were executed in the name of Athena. Ares was even replaced by Zephos as one of the Twelve Olympians. Now, will you stop your yelling? You're making a scene."

Link just rolled his eyes at the sisters' argument. Something then caught his eye. He noticed a beautiful female spirit floating around a male and female human. The male human knelt down and offered the female a ring. The female woman burst out in tears and hugged the male.

The beautiful female spirit, who no one but Link seemed to notice, winked at the Hylian and blew him a kiss. Link blushed a little bit, turned away from the female spirit, and continued to walk. The female spirit crossed her arms and flew after Link, trying to flirt and seduce him. Link, feeling uncomfortable, stumble backwards.

"Stop." Link ordered the spirit.

Sophitia and the others turned around to see what was bothering Link. "What's wrong, Link?" Sophitia asked in her usual calm and sweet voice, the voice she used for everyone, with the exception of her sister or in the rare situations she had to discipline her children.

"No-nothing." Link stammered a little.

The spirit, who seemed to be disappointed that she wasn't able to seduce Link, crossed her arms and began to pout. She then flew off to continue casting her spells. She came to a woman who carried several apples and knocked one, causing it to roll over to a man. The man picked up the apple and brought it over to the woman and the two's eyes met.

"Link, are you coming?" Sophitia called.

"Yes." Link chased after the two women and two children.

When Sophitia reached the temple, Sophitia bent down to the statues of Hephaestus and Athena and began to pray. Patroklos and Pyrrha, mimicking their mother, did the same.

"Oh brother." Cassandra rolled her eyes. Sophitia grabbed her younger sister's skirt and forced her to her knees to pray. Link watched Sophitia out of the corner of his eyes, mimicking whatever she did. He wasn't sure how this world's praying worked. It was about the same as how Hylian's prayed, so at least he felt he wasn't totally lost.

"Alright, we're done." Sophitia announced. "Let's go home."

"All this travel for nothing." Cassandra sighed.

"Stop whining." Sophitia ordered. "Are you coming, Link?"

"Oh, I'll be right with you." Link informed.

"See? Link prays." Sophitia pointed out.

"Oh, will you just can it?" Cassandra growled as she followed Sophitia out of the temple.

Link recognized the statues as the same faces as the spirits that were roaming the streets and casting spells on people. Once the Alexandra family left the temple, Link turned to the statue of Hephaestus.

"I know you're there." Link informed in Hylian.

"So you can sense my presence." Hephaestus appeared on top of his statue and sat on it as if it was a throne. "I'm impressed. You're the first person to ever be able to do so without my permission."

Link recognized this god as the spirit he saw in Rothion's shop last night.

"I saw you possess Rothion last night." Link informed. "Why?"

"He needed help finishing his project." Hephaestus informed. "I'm the god of the forge. Sophitia and her family have always been loyal to me. It is only natural that I assist them. Rothion may be a great smith, but the reason he became the best was due to my help."

"If you want to help them, why didn't you protect her children from Soul Edge?"

"As a warrior chosen by the gods, you should know that." A woman's voice lectured. A female spirit dressed in silver and blue armor appeared on top of Athena's statue. "Gods and goddesses are only allowed to intervene in the lives of mortals in certain ways. If we intervene in a way that we are not allowed to, dire consequences result, not to us, but to the mortal realm."

"Of course." Link snorted. "I forgot about that."

"Even if I had tried to protect Sophitia's children from Soul Edge, I wouldn't have been able to." Hephaestus informed. "Soul Edge has become so powerful, not even the gods can break the power. The only reason your princess was able to break the curse was because she had the assistance of the holy stone and one of the creators."

"How am I supposed to destroy something you can't?" Link asked.

"We gods are not all powerful like the mortals make us out to be." Athena informed. "We can only influence those that believe in us, and our powers vary, depending on the number of people who believe in us. That is one reason I can't do anything to protect Cassandra."

"Sounds petty." Link commented.

"It might be petty, but those are the laws we must follow." Athena informed. "There is nothing we can do about it. Because of the new Christian religion, Athens is one of the only towns left that still worships us, and we are weakening."

"What will happen if no worships you?" Link asked.

"We will become powerless, nothing more than aimless spirits. This has already happened to many of the gods of Olympus. Even some of the Olympian Twelve are beginning to vanish. The only god that won't fade away by the end of the century is Zeus."

"Why?" Link asked.

"Zeus was created to be the guardian of this world by the three creators." Athena explained. "He created us to assist him in that task. He won't fade away because he was made the creators directly. Does that answer your questions?"

"Yes." Link answered.

"We must go now." Athena informed. "We will appear to you again if you need our services."

Hephaestus and Athena vanished and Zephos appeared over one of the statues.

"That statue doesn't even look like you." Link told the flying frog.

"Humans are rather arrogant creatures who believe they are the superior creatures in the world and therefore the gods must look like them."

"Oh." Link commented. "Zephos, what will happen to you when the gods vanish?"

"Right now, I serve in both Hyrule and this world. Once I am no longer needed in this world, I'll just be in Hyrule. Link, I suggest you be careful. Your enemies are becoming more desperate to kill you."

"Right, thank you." Link thanked the wind deity. The Hylian hero ran out of the temple and met up with Sophitia and Cassandra as they walked to Sophitia's home. Once they entered the living room, they were greeted by Rothion.

"Finally, I'm done." Rothion announced. His voice was filled with both pride and exhaustion. "Come and take a look at it."

Sophitia, Cassandra, Link, and Yun-Seong, who was in the living room, followed Rothion down to the forge where he could show them his masterpiece.

Hanging on the wall of Rothion's shop was a suit of armor. The way the armor was shaped definitely implied it was made for a woman and was a beautiful shade of blue aqua. Underneath the breastplate of the armor was a skirt made of scale-shaped metal shingles. The skirt was designed to provide extra protection for the legs but allowed maximum movement for the user to deliver both frontal kicks and sidekicks. There were metal boots that went up to the knees and armored gloves that went up to the elbows. The helmet didn't come with a visor, but went over the wearer's cheeks and forehead and was decorated with wings on each side. Finally, the armor came with purple leggings and a purple shirt that went under the armor to provide extra protection and to prevent the armor from rubbing against the user.

"This armor! Who asked you to make it?" Sophitia asked, gazing at it.

"Personally, I don't remember. All I remember is that someone needed it their sister. Truthfully, I don't remember making most of it. Throughout the night, I felt I was in some sort of daze and just worked without realizing what I was doing. Can't argue with the results though."

"Rothion, don't you realize that was Hephaestus helping you?" Sophitia informed.

"Oh no! Not this again." Cassandra groaned.

"What? Don't you see?" Sophitia pointed out. "This is a sign from Hephaestus. Hephaestus has always wanted me to destroy Soul Edge, and this is his way of helping me."

"Look, I don't know if this is Hephaestus's doing or not, but you are not going after Soul Edge." Cassandra once again began the never-ending argument between the two sisters. "He almost got you killed once before when going after Soul Edge, I'm not going to let him endanger your life again."

"And you think you're ready?" Sophitia shot back. "I think its time we decide this once and for all, sister."

"So be it." Cassandra growled.

As the two headed upstairs, Pyrrha and Patroklos began to whine.

"Aunt Cassandra and Mommy are fighting again." Patroklos whimpered.

"No worries. Everything O.K." Link picked up the children and comforted them. "Rothion, keep them with you, I break up fight."

Link handed the two children to Rothion and headed upstairs.

"Cassandra's getting beat up again." Talim informed sadly. She watched the two sisters fight through the window. "Link, isn't there anyway you can stop them from always fighting? It is really sad to see siblings that care about each other act like that."

"I agree." Link spoke in his darker voice that he reserved for fighting. Talim looked at him in surprise as he walked out of the house.

Cassandra was knocked down by Sophitia, but she jumped up into her fighting position. Surprisingly, she had become a better fighter in the past few days and was holding her own against her sister.

"Just give up." Sophitia ordered. "You're never going to win. It's not your destiny. It never was."

"You don't get it, do you?" Cassandra grunted. "I don't believe in destiny like you, sister. We should make our own choices, our own destiny. And if I have to prove that to you, so be it!"

Cassandra and Sophitia charged towards each other. Neither of them noticed Link, who had suddenly appeared between them and blocked both of their blows with his own sword. He then grabbed each of them by a hand and flung them backwards. Forgetting about his own strength though, Link accidently flung both squabbling sisters further than he wanted. Both the sisters flew a couple feet backwards through the air and landed with a loud thud.

"Sorry." Link apologized. "Forgot own strength."

Neither Cassandra nor Sophitia seemed hurt as they both jumped to their feet and got ready to fight some more.

"Link, stay out of this." Cassandra ordered.

"Yes, Link. I am terribly sorry, but this is family business that must be solved." Sophitia explained calmly to the Hylian.

"Shut up!" Link barked at both the women, using a new phrase Yun-Seong had taught him. Cassandra and Sophitia both jumped. Neither of them had heard Link speak like that before.

"This fighting pointless!" Link hollered. "All it does is upset the children and hurt you. If you two love each other, why fight all the time? Find nicer way to solve problems and get along, because one day, one of you could die in battle. Now hug and make up."

The sisters finally noticed that Talim, Pyrrha, and Patroklos watched the fight. Cassandra and Sophitia did as Link told them.

"You know we will have to finish this later when the children aren't around." Sophitia whispered to Cassandra.

"Yeah, and I'll beat you." Cassandra informed.

Content with his work, Link walked back into the house.

Later that day, Link brought Pyrrha and Patroklos to the park, where the Hylian hero played ball with the two children. Several neighborhood children joined in the game and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.

Amy watched Link play with the children happily. There seemed to be a hint of jealousy in her eyes as she watched the Hylian play happily with everyone.

"Hey Amy! How are you?" Cassandra walked up to the lone girl.

"Fine. Shouldn't you be fighting your sister?" Amy asked in an uninterested voice.

"Oh, we scheduled that for tomorrow outside of town so it wouldn't upset Pyrrha and Patroklos."

"I see." Amy responded as she turned her head to Cassandra.

"Hey, are you O.K.? You don't act fine, Amy." Cassandra expressed sincere concern for the girl.

"I said I'm fine. It's not like anyone cares, anyway."

"That's not true. We all care about you."

"That's a lie. Papa is always gone and Link is too busy playing with other children. I also know what you're doing. You're just pretending to care about me because Link asked you to. He never wanted to take care of me. He just did so he wouldn't feel guilty. With you and Papa around, he can forget about me without feeling any guilt. I should have known this would happen."

Cassandra smacked Amy across the face, causing the girl to look at her in shock.

"Sorry, but you needed it." Cassandra informed. "Look, I don't know what happened to you in the past, but you'd better get one thing straight. Link does care about you and he didn't take care of you because he felt obligated to. He did it because he wanted to, got it? The same goes for me. I'm not being nice to you because Link asked me to. I'm nice to you because I thought you needed someone to love you when your father and Link weren't around."

"I see." Amy responded in her usual, unemotional voice as she held her cheek.

"And you know, I'm usually not busy, so if you'd just ask, we can do things. I realize you don't like shopping and I'm not much of a musician, but I'm sure there are other things we can do."

Amy looked at Link, who was playing with the children. Mothers were coming to pick them up now that they had finished their errands. It was weird as happy as the children were with Link, most of them seemed just as happy when their mothers came to pick them up.

"Well, right now I'm going to the library to read." Amy informed. "I saw my father and would like to speak to him about something in private."

"Oh, well suit yourself." Cassandra shrugged as Amy left.

In the distance, Shadow watched Link as he played with the children. He knew how to stay hidden so that not even the skilled hero could sense him.

"You shouldn't let your guard down, Link." Shadow spoke, although he was too far away for even Link to hear him. "Let's see how well these townspeople like you after they know what you truly are."

A ball of black flames appeared in Shadow's hand. Shadow lunched the ball of fire into a populated house, lightening on fire.

"Why didn't you tell everyone this is where you went?" Amy asked Raphael in her unemotional voice. "I was worried."

"Sorry about that, my dear." Raphael apologized. "I've gotten so wrapped up in my research; I guess I forgot about other things."

"Oh I see." Amy acknowledged as she sat in a dark corner of the library. She stared at the ground and didn't make a sound.

Raphael looked worriedly at his daughter. She was starting to act how she did before she met Link; closed off to everyone and showing no interest to the world around her.

"My dear, is there anything wrong?" Raphael asked, becoming concerned about his daughters well being.

"No. Just no one to be with." Amy responded without looking her father in the eye.

"Where's Link?"

"Playing with a bunch of children. Papa, why aren't you married? I though most noblemen married young."

"What? Well, that was out of the blue." Raphael commented. "You see, my dear, because of our unique cases, I can't marry until I have completed my goals."

"I see."

"Don't worry my dear." Raphael consoled. "The research I've been trying to do is about Soul Edge and Soul Calibur. As soon as I find what I need, I promise, you will have everything you've ever wanted."

The library shook from an explosion that occurred outside on a nearby building.

"I wonder what that was?" Raphael spoke.

Raphael and Amy ran outside to see a building on fire. The townspeople were in a panic as the authorities came to control the crowd and try to put out the fire, but they seemed unsuccessful. Cassandra and Link ran towards the building, but were stopped by some soldiers.

"Cassandra, Link, what happened?" Raphael asked.

"I don't know. The fire suddenly started out of nowhere." Cassandra informed in a panic.

"There's someone still in there." Pyrrha pointed to a person in the second floor window.

Link immediately shoved past the guards.

"Hey stop!" One of the soldiers yelled.

With a single jump, Link leapt through the second story window. He smashed through the glass and landed next to the people still inside the burning building. The people inside were two parents with their child.

"No worries. I save you." Link assured. Link picked up all three of the people in his arms and was about to turn around and jump through the window when some of the ceiling crumbled in front of the window, blocking his path. Using his magic, Link activated Nayru's Love to form a barrier around himself and the three people so no one would be hurt from the flames or crumbling ceiling. Link then turned around and began to run down the stairs, still holding the three people in his arms. He held them underneath him, so he would be the one who breathed in more smoke. Luckily, Link's body was strong and could take the smoke. Compared to being inside Death Mountain Crater, this was nothing.

Link made his way to the first floor when he noticed the whole second floor was about to fall on top of them. Even though Nayru's Love would protect them for a little while, if the whole house collapsed on them, the three people wouldn't survive. Link would, but they wouldn't. Quickly, Link dropped the three people and raised his arms up to support the ceiling.

"Go!" Link yelled as he held up the ceiling. He activated his gold gauntlets to give him even more strength.

The two parents looked at the warrior as if they wanted to help, but they grabbed their child and ran out of the house.

"Where's Link?" Cassandra quickly asked the family as they ran out of the house.

"You mean the man who saved us?" The woman asked.

"He's still inside." The husband informed.

"No!" Cassandra cried. Raphael quickly grabbed her by the arm to stop her from running inside.

"Don't even think about it! Your body can't handle those flames. Here, take Amy. I'll go." Raphael was about to run inside, but the flames became worse and he couldn't even enter the house. The house then crumbled. The collapsing of the house caused the flames to die out, but there was no way even Link would have survived something like that.

"He's gone." Cassandra began to sob. "He's gone. He died saving people he didn't even know."

Amy began to cry as well.

"Wait, do you hear that?" Raphael interrupted.

Everyone heard a roar from inside the rubble as several large pieces of wood and stone were thrown into the air and Link emerged, dressed in the same armor he had used to battle the mechanical goat. Link's tunic in its Goron mode was completely fireproof and had enhanced his strength so he could prevent the house from squashing him.

Link walked towards his friends as his tunic reverted back to its light purple color.

"Link, you're alive!" Cassandra ran up and squeezed the hero with all her might.

"Of course." Link chuckled.

Link's senses alerted him to danger as he quickly pushed Cassandra out of the way as a black arrow hit his head. Luckily, what was left of the helmet he wore as a disguise had protected him, but between the fire and the arrow, the helmet fell apart, revealing the Hylian's elf ears.

"What in the world?" One of the townspeople gasped, looking at Link's ears.

"Look at those ears!" Another gasped.

"Amy, go get Sophitia and Rothion." Raphael ordered his daughter.

"But." Amy began to argue.

"Go!" Raphael ordered.

Amy obeyed her father and ran towards Sophitia's house as fast as possible.

"Now, now, nothing to worry about here folks." Raphael tried to calm the crowd. "He's just a foreigner, like myself."

"A foreigner! He's not human." One of the crowd members informed. "No one could survive a building falling upon us."

"O.K., so he's an elf." Raphael admitted. "But, as you can see, he's perfectly harmless."

"How do we know he's not a daemon?" One of the townspeople questioned.

"What was that?" Cassandra growled at the townsmen who suggested that. Link was about to hold her back, but he was surrounded by too many people. Some of them seemed harmless or curious, but others seemed violent.

"He can't be a daemon." The mother of the rescued family argued on his behalf. "He just saved us."

"But what of all the plagues that have occurred since his arrival?" Another man asked.

"Yes, he could be the cause of them." Another informed.

"Can you do magic?" One of the children who was near Link asked.

"Raphael, help!" Link cried. He could handle a horde of monsters, but was incapable of dealing with large crowds of people.

Raphael and Cassandra tried to pull people away from Link, but they were unsuccessful.

"We should kill him." One person suggested.

"What? He hasn't done anything wrong." Another argued. "We should ask him questions about where he came from."

"If he's an elf, he can see and hear the gods. Let's make him a priest."

"That's enough!" A familiar woman's voice boomed.

Everyone stopped and turned to see Sophitia and Rothion.

"This elf's name is Link. He is no harm to anyone here. In fact, it was he who has protected this town from monsters. However, he is a little bashful and doesn't like being crowded, so back away from him now."

As if being commanded by a great king, the crowd did as Sophitia demanded.

Rothion walked to Link and helped him up after he had fallen over because of being crowded.

"You O.K., Link?" Rothion asked.

"Listen up." Sophitia ordered. "Link is staying with Rothion and me. People will not crowd him or try to attack him. He will babysit for free though. Link, Rothion, time to go."

Link and Rothion followed Sophitia as they headed back to her house.

"Good job, Amy." Raphael complimented his daughter. "By getting Sophitia and Rothion, you helped save Link."

Cassandra seemed to look depressed after the incident with Link being surrounded and practically attacked by everyone in town.

"My dear lady, you look like you just lost your best friend. What is wrong?" Raphael asked.

"Oh, nothing." Cassandra growled. "It's just that I couldn't save Link from a simple mob. Once again, my sister had to come to the rescue. Maybe I should be the one who stays and takes care of Patroklos and Pyrrha. That's about all I'm useful for."

"Don't say that." Raphael tried to cheer Cassandra. "I'm sure you'll accomplish great things."

"Yeah right." Cassandra muttered.

"Thank you." Link thanked Sophitia and Rothion as he practically collapsed into a chair from his action-filled day. "How did you do that?"

"Ever since Sophitia fought off that golem, the townspeople and guards realized she truly was a great warrior and hero." Rothion informed.

"I see." Link responded.

"Anyway, I think I'm going to put Pyrrha and Patroklos to bed." Sophitia informed. "It's getting late and they had a busy day."

"Can't we stay up later with Mr. Elf?" Pyrrha began.

"Absolutely not! Now time for bed." Sophitia ordered. "Besides, Link will be going to bed too."

"O.K." The girl sighed.

"Goodnight, Mr. Elf." Both children called and waved as their mother led them upstairs.

Link waved back to the children until they entered their room. He then took his own pillow and blanket and began to get ready. Now that his secret was out, he would have to sleep inside for awhile until everything blew over.

Several hours later, during the middle of the night, Link's ears perked up. He could sense a powerful dark force calling to him from outside the house. Link quickly grabbed his gear and ran out of the house to find the streets completely covered with fog.

"You." Link hissed in Hylian as a shadow figure began to walk towards him. The man was hidden in a cloak, but that didn't stop Link from recognizing him.

"I should have known."

"It's been awhile, Link." Shadow commented in a smooth and fake friendly voice. "Ready to settle our rivalry? I even have the perfect dueling spot picked out."

"Like I'm that stupid?" Link snorted. "It's a trap and I know it."

"Is that so?" Shadow chuckled, keeping his voice smooth and friendly. "Let's play a little game. Right now, families are happily asleep, cozy in their houses. Let's find out what happens when I suddenly light half this city on fire?"

A ball of black fire appeared in each of Shadow's hands.

"Now, I know you were able to successfully rescue one family, but tell me, can you rescue hundreds?"

"You monster." Link snarled.

"The choice is yours." Shadow reminded.

"Fine. Where to you want to meet?" Link gave into Shadow's demands.

"There is a nice little dessert-like area a few miles up north. Don't worry. It's out of town. Meet me there alone in one hour or else many of your little friends may end up dead." Shadow vanished. With Shadow gone, the fog began to lift, leaving an angry Link.


	33. Chapter 32 Cassandra's Challenge

Ch. 32 Cassandra's Challenge,

Fighting a Shadow

Link rode Epona to the designated area that Shadow had chosen. He had barely any sleep, but was used to fighting in an exhausted condition. Since he had already used his Triforce to help save the family in the fire, and hadn't had enough time to recharge his magic, he'd have to rely on his own skills and magic instead of his Trifroce.

"Well, well, you're early." Shadow chuckled, leaning against a rock. "I wouldn't have expected any less from the great Hero of Time."

"Stop the bullcrap." Link scowled. "I know who you are, so you can throw away that fake disguise."

"Always, to the point aren't we, brother." Shadow chuckled. He threw away his robe, and revealed a face and body almost identical to Link. However, the name 'Shadow' served as an accurate description of his features. His skin looked like it was covered with black coal dust, his eyes looked like two red glowing embers, and his hair was dark grey. His tunic and gauntlets were black while his undershirt and pants were a light grey. The only part of his suit that was the same color of Link was his boots.

"Let's go." Link hissed as a gold aura surrounded his body.

"Yes, let's." Dark Link chuckled, as a red aura began to surround his body.

Link and Dark Link drew their weapons and charged at each other. Like the evil doppelganger's appearance, his weapons were shaped exactly like Link's, but they were a different color. His sword's handle was black and its blade was blood red. His shield looked like the Hylian Shield, but instead of having a silver border around the shield, he had a black border.

Link and Dark Link slashed and blocked each other's attacks with the utmost speed and ferocity. However, because they fought and thought nearly identically when in battle, it was like watching a person fight his reflection.

Link stabbed at his evil twin. Dark Link managed to dodge the attack and slash at Link's shoulder, but the Hylian hero blocked the attack with his shield. Link tried to jump and attack Dark Link, but Dark Link jumped over Link and threw his black boomerang at Link. Link was still in the air when the boomerang flew towards him, so the Hylian performed a three sixty spin to dodge the boomerang. Dark Link then came towards Link with his blade, but Link blocked with his shield. With his evil doppelganger now above him, Link kicked his evil twin. Even though Dark Link blocked the kick with his own shield, the force of the kick caused him to fly a couple feet backwards. Dark Link still managed to land gracefully on his feet at the same time as Link landed.

"Din's fire!" Link yelled. He fired a ball of orange and red fire at Dark Link.

"Din's fire!" Dark Link yelled. He fired a ball of black fire at Link.

The two blasts of fire connected and exploded.

"Well, I'm impressed, brother." Dark Link chuckled. "Usually, you can't compete against me in using sword skills, so you have to use your Triforce Magic to destroy me. I wonder why you're not using it now. Can it be because you used some of it to save a certain family and have to use it sparingly? No matter, I think I'll end this now."

Dark Link pulled out several shards of Soul Edge. The shards began to glow red and entered his body, causing a larger aura to surround the evil doppelganger.

"With these shards, plus the ones I've already have in myself, I'm invincible."

Dark Link charged towards Link again, but this time the doppelganger was even quicker than before and Link had trouble blocking and dodging his attacks.

"What's wrong, brother? Having trouble dodging my attacks?" Dark Link taunted. He landed two blows across the chest at Link. Luckily the blows were nothing to the mighty hero and Link continued to fight back against his evil twin.

"Why don't you use your Triforce magic?" Dark Link taunted as he blocked one of Link's attacks. "Oh wait! I forgot. You can't."

Dark Link statement was wrong. Link could still use his Triforce Magic, but only sparingly. That meant he had to wait for the perfect moment to strike. When Dark Link stabbed at Link, the Hylian hero quickly sidestepped so he was at the side of his doppelganger.

'_Now.'_ Link thought as his Triforce marking began to glow. Link used the magic of his Triforce to increase his speed and strength, allowing him to quickly charge his Hurricane Spin attack and cut Dark Link in half.

Panting from his tough battle, Link turned and began to walk away. What the hero didn't notice was Dark Link opening his eyes. Link suddenly felt a jolt of pain as a hookshot connected into his back.

"Did you really think you could beat me that easily?" Link heard Dark Link's voice mock.

Link turned his head to see the top half of Dark Link's body suddenly reconnect with his bottom half through magic.

"With Soul Edge in me, I can't be killed. I'm important." Dark Link laughed.

Dark Link pushed a bottom on his hookshot to cause Link to be pulled towards him. As Link skidded towards Dark Link, the evil doppelganger ran his blade through the hero's stomach. Dark Link withdrew his hookshot and blade from Link and let the hero fall to the ground.

Seeing her master hurt, Epona charged towards Dark Link, sending him backwards several feet. Epona bent down to try to drag Link away, but the warrior stopped her.

"Epona, get Mitsurugi and Siegfried. I can hold out for now."

Epona snorted and nodded, leaving her Master to go get help.

"Getting help won't save you in time brother!" Dark Link jumped at Link.

Link blocked the attack, but his reflexes were slower now due to his injuries.

Cassandra had awoken again in the middle of the night. She had been too upset about earlier to sleep. She heard Epona making a lot of noise outside. Cassandra quickly ran outside to silence the horse before she woke everyone up.

"Shh, quiet you." Cassandra hushed the horse. She tried to calm Epona, but the horse only seemed to become more frantic. The horse stopped neighing but started to nudge her.

"What's your problem?" Cassandra growled.

Epona seemed to roll her eyes at Cassandra as the horse drew a stick figure in the dirt with a sword through its stomach. Epona then labeled the stick figure as "Link."

"What? Link's in trouble?" Cassandra shouted, and then covered her mouth.

Epona snorted and then nodded yes.

"Well, Link did say that you're a magic horse and that makes you smarter."

Cassandra ran into the house to see if she wasn't imagining the horse was trying to speak to her. However, what the horse had told her was right. Link was gone. Cassandra immediately ran down into the forgery and grabbed her sword and shield when she noticed that the armor her brother-in-law had made was glowing. Was this supposed to be a message?

Cassandra ran out of the house and jumped on Epona. The Athenian woman was dressed in the armor that Rothion had made.

"Let's go, Epona."

The horse neighed and began to gallop towards Link.

Link had been slashed several more times by Dark Link and felt his body was about to give into from loss of blood. Link fell to his knees, leaning on his sword as he panted.

"Done already, brother?" Dark Link chuckled. "Shame. I was hoping this fight would last longer."

Link growled. He rose to his feet and slashed at his evil twin, but his blows were too slow and Dark Link easily avoided them. Dark Link kicked the Hylian hero in the face, knocking him onto his side. This time, Link didn't have enough strength to get up.

"Well, it's been fun, but I guess I'll just have to finish you off." Dark Link informed.

Dark Link raised his blade to deliver the killing blow when he heard horse hooves and a woman shout, "No!"

Cassandra quickly jumped off Epona and threw herself between Link and Dark Link's blade. Dark Link's blade connected with Cassandra's back, but her new armor protected her.

Cassandra jumped up and pointed her weapon at Link's attacker, only to gasp to see who it was. This person looked just like Link.

"Surprised?" Dark Link asked the Athenian. "I'm sure you are. However, I suggest you get a hold of yourself before you die."

Dark Link lunged at Cassandra so fast, the Athenian didn't have time to think. Dark Link disarmed the female warrior and punched her in the gut. Once again, Cassandra's armor protected her.

"Nice armor." Dark Link complimented. "Let's see how long it lasts.

"I don't care who you look like." Cassandra growled. "You're dead for hurting Link like this."

Cassandra lunged towards Dark Link, full of anger, but Dark Link blocked Cassandra's attacks without even trying. He even smirked as he continued to let the girl attack him and then block her attacks. Dark Link struck back at Cassandra, knocking her off balance in a single swipe. He then tripped her to the ground.

"Girl, you're not even worth my time." Dark Link laughed. "I could have beaten you with ease even without the shards of Soul Edge. How pathetic."

Dark Link was about finish the woman off when a bomb hit him in the back, causing him to fall on his stomach. Link had risen to his feet. He jumped over to Cassandra and wrapped his arms around her.

"Farore's Wind!" Link chanted, using the rest of his magic to form a green tornado around himself and Cassandra. The tornado was strong enough to make Dark Link skid backwards, and when it had died down, Link and Cassandra had vanished.

Dark Link turned to see that Epona was gone as well. She galloped towards the town to get more help.

"Clever plan, brother, but I'll hunt you down no matter where you go."

Link teleported to the opening of a cave. Link couldn't stand anymore so Cassandra had to throw him onto her back as she dragged him inside.

"Why did you come?" Link asked Cassandra as he was brought into the cave.

"Aren't you glad I showed up?" Cassandra was a little offended. She set him down gently. "If I hadn't showed up when I did, that bastard would have killed you."

"I know, but now you'll be killed by him. He won't stop until he finds me." Link then groaned in pain as he held his wounds.

"Stop talking right now." Cassandra ordered. She looked at his wounds and saw they were really bad. How he had been able to stay alive, let alone move and use magic, was a mystery.

Cassandra began to remove some of her armor. Link's cheeks became pink and he turned his head away from the woman.

"Oh, clean that dirty mind of yours." Cassandra sighed. "We need something to wrap around your wounds. We don't have bandages, so I'll have to tear up my leggings."

Cassandra tore her leggings up and put her boots back on. She then began to wrap Link's wounds.

"Who was that guy anyway?" Cassandra asked. "And why did he look like you, Link?"

Link remained silent.

"Will you answer me?" Cassandra requested. She became more irritated with the stubborn hero. "Link, how do you expect us to help you if you don't tell us anything about yourself? We've been together for so long now, but I hardly know anything about you. It hurts that you don't trust any of us."

"I don't know much." Link finally admitted. "That man was Dark Link. I'm not sure how he was created. King of Evil somehow made him from the energy of previous reincarnation."

"Reincarnation?" Cassandra asked confused.

"Yes. I've lived many, many lives. Whenever evil threatens world, I'm reborn, but with no memories of previous life."

"Yes, that is what reincarnated means." Cassandra whimpered to herself. Finding out the truth about Link was different than she had thought.

"Yes. When a person dies, their life is energy released from their body. Ganondorf captured the life energy of one of my previous lives and used it to create Dark Link. Dark Link was created only to kill me. He knows how I fight and think. He stops at nothing to kill me and now you."

"Like I give a damn." Cassandra snorted. "I'm going to kick his butt when he gets here."

"You can't win him."

"Beat him." Cassandra corrected. "It sounds like you've fought this guy before. How did you beat him?"

"When I fought him first time, I was much younger. It was during a journey in a fog-filled swamp. I was having doubts about being able to always save the world. Couldn't beat him with own skills so used magic to win. He was constantly revived by King of Evil, and come back little stronger each time. Luckily, I stronger each time I fight too, and continue beating him using magic and later using Triforce magic."

"What's Triforce Magic?"

"Marking that glows on left hand." Link explained. "Now he has Soul Edge to make himself stronger. I'm not sure if I can beat him." Link remained silent for a few second until his body seemed to stiffen as he became alert.

"What's wrong?" Cassandra asked.

"He's coming." Link informed.

"Well, looks like it's time for me to give it my all." Cassandra proclaimed. She tried to stay calm as she grabbed her weapons.

"No, you cannot win." Link tried to emphasize. "Run, I fight."

"Please, you can't even stand. Link, if our positions were in reverse, would you just abandon me, or would you fight to the death?"

Link turned his head and refused to answer the question. He knew Cassandra already knew the answer and admitting it would only further encourage her to fight.

"You can avoid the question all you want, but I know you would choose to fight." Cassandra lectured. "Now, where's Epona?"

"She went to get more help."

"Good, that means all I need to do is hold him off."

"Cassandra, no!" Link tried to stop the Athenian. Link stood and grabbed his weapons using pure willpower.

Cassandra released a frustrated sigh. "Geez Link, you're even more stubborn than I am sometimes, you know that. Look, I really didn't want to do this to you a second time, but it looks like I have no other choice."

Cassandra shoved Link to the ground and jumped into the air, landing with her rear on top of his face, knocking the Hylian unconscious.

"Ouch, that hurts." Cassandra rubbed her thigh. "I've got to find a better way to knock people out." The Athenian warrior turned to the unconscious Link. "I'm sorry Link, but even if I die fighting this guy, as long as you live, I'll know I was able to be of some use to you."

Dark Link continued to walk north. Even though Link had left no tracks, Dark Link could sense Link's presence, and that gave him an approximate direction to follow.

'_He's closer now.'_ Dark Link thought. _'He must have drank a potion to heal himself. No matter, it'll be over for him soon.'_

Cassandra jumped from behind a rock and charged towards Dark Link, yelling.

Dark Link turned around and easily avoided the attack.

"So, you're the one I sensed." Dark Link spoke. "You know, if you want to perform a sneak attack, it's usually better to not yell while doing it. Now, move aside, little girl, my fight is with Link. I have no interest in killing anyone else."

"I'll never let you lay a finger on Link." Cassandra yelled. "And I will fight you to the death to protect him."

Dark Link laughed hysterically. "Oh, this is great! The almighty hero, Link, has sent a girl to protect him. Well, my Valiant Princess, I hope you made your dues with the gods."

Cassandra slashed at Dark Link several times, but Link's evil twin blocked blow after blow without trying. Cassandra then tried to strike the doppelganger with her shield, but Dark Link blocked with his own shield and shoved her backwards onto her back.

"Damn it." Cassandra hissed. "He's just toying with me. If this keeps up, I'll be dead before help can even arrive."

Dark Link brought his sword down towards Cassandra, but she rolled out of the way just in time to dodge it. If Dark Link had been using his full speed, she would have been dead within a blink of an eye.

"You're not half bad, cutie." Dark Link complimented. "Maybe I'll let you live, and when I'm done with Link, I'll keep you for some enjoyment."

"Shut up, you bastard!" Cassandra shouted. _'How am I suppose to beat this guy.'_ Cassandra then remembered something Link had taught her in the past.

_Cassandra and Talim had been beaten by Link while they spared, and even though the hero took it easy on them, he always won. _

"_Link, how do you fight so well?" Talim asked the Hylian. _

"_I learn enemy's style." Link informed. _

"_You lean our style?" Cassandra asked. _

"_Yes. Learning style let me predict your moves and find weaknesses. All styles have weakness and openings. Trick is to find weakness and openings."_

"_Does even your style have weakness?" Talim asked. _

"_Yes. Even my style has weaknesses. If warrior is stronger and faster, learn warrior's style, you can win." _

"All right." Cassandra began to strategize. "Even Link has weaknesses. The trick is to find them. This guy fights like Link, so if I use that knowledge, I might be able to predict his moves."

Cassandra bent into a defense stance.

"On the defense already?" Dark Link chuckled. "Well, that's a change. Let's see how well you can handle my attacks now."

Dark Link stabbed at Cassandra's stomach, but Cassandra sidestepped to avoid it. Even though Cassandra saw the attack coming, Dark Link moved so fast he was still was able to strike her side. Luckily, the attack only pierced through the armor and barely missed her skin.

Dark Link slashed at Cassandra's head but Cassandra ducked and tried to stab at Link's evil twin. Dark Link jumped back to avoid the attack, surprised at Cassandra's new skill in fighting him.

"I'm impressed." Dark Link chuckled. "You must have fought Link so much that you were able to predict my attacks. However, keep in mind that I can move faster than you can think, so trying to foresee my attacks won't help you."

Dark Link charged towards Cassandra as if he was going to attack her, but then he quickly side stepped to appear behind her.

"Behind you." Dark Link announced.

Cassandra quickly spun around, but Dark Link then vanished and reappeared behind her again.

"Too slow.' Dark Link mocked. Dark Link continued to move around Cassandra at such a speed that there appeared to be several copies of him. There was no way Cassandra would be able to predict Dark Link's moves now. There was one move that would save her. It was a move she saw Link perform several times and it was nearly invincible.

Cassandra held her sword out to her side and gathered her energy into it. She then spun around, performing a spin attack with the blade. Dark Link was forced to stop moving around and block the spin attack with his blade. However, Cassandra spun around two more times, catching the evil doppelganger off guard. Dark Link avoided being struck by the attack, but Cassandra's blade was able to cut his tunic and undershirt to pieces, revealing his chest.

On Dark Link's chest was a large eye, identical to the one that existed on Soul Edge.

"A Hurricane Spin! But only people who can perform that move are myself, Link, and his grandfather. How can someone like you know this move? Unless… of course, that makes sense! Your looks, the fact that your soul is filled with courage, how you fight, you even have the power to repel evil. You're like a female version of Link. I knew there was something about you I didn't like. That's too bad. Because you're so much like Link, I'm going to need to stop playing and get killing."

"Bring it." Cassandra challenged. However, she was still dizzy from performing her attack, and that was all Dark Link needed to gain the upper hand. With his inhuman speed, Dark Link dashed towards Cassandra and disarmed her. The evil doppelganger then grabbed both of her arms and forced them behind her back. Dark Link was several times stronger than Cassandra, even without the power of Soul Edge, and could easily restrain her. Dark Link used one hand to restrain both of her wrists as he removed her helmet from her face.

"You know, despite the fact that you remind me of my brother, I still find you quite attractive for some odd reason. Before I'm forced to eliminate you, maybe we can have some fun."

Dark Link used his free hand to stroke Cassandra's cheek, only to be kneed in the crotch. Due to the fact that Cassandra's knees were covered with a piece of pointed metal, it hurt even worse than being just hit by someone's knee.

Dark Link released Cassandra from his grip and the female took this as her chance to grab her weapons. By that time, Link's evil twin had recovered from what would have knocked a normal person out and was in a rage.

"So you want to play rough? I'll play rough." The eye on Dark Link's stomach began to glow, indicating that he was now using the power of the shards in his body. A powerful red aura surrounded his body just as it had when he was fighting Link at his full power.

Link awoke in a world of pain. Above him, the hero could see a floating spirit above him. The spirit was dressed in armor, and held a sword in one hand and a hammer in the other.

"Hephaestus, why are you here?" Link asked the god floating above him.

"I was hoping Cassandra was going to ask for my help in battle, but she has refused, so I can do nothing but watch as she is slowly killed by Dark Link." Hephaestus sighed.

"I've got to help her." Link groaned weakly. "Hephaestus, can't you save her life this once?"

"I'm sorry, but rules are rules, Link." The god informed. "She had been holding her own because Dark Link was only toying with her. However, now that she has angered him, there's no hope for her."

"Then help me." Link begged. "I believe in you, and I want Cassandra to live."

"Unfortunately, I was ordered not to help you either. Don't you have the milk Zelda gave you?"

The god then vanished. Link quickly grabbed his bottle of milk from Zelda and took a couple sips. Link only drank enough milk to heal some of his wounds and to recover a small amount of his energy. He wanted to leave the rest, knowing that Cassandra would probably need some as well.

With his sword and shield in hand, Link quickly ran in the direction that he could sense Dark Link.

Cassandra was lying on her back with Dark Link's foot pressed against her chest, preventing her from getting up. Both of her damaged weapons lay several feet away from her and her armor was badly damaged all over. Even though Cassandra's armor had prevented her from dying, it didn't stand a chance against Dark Link when he used his full power.

"Well, my little Valiant Princess, it's all over for you. Let's start by removing you from this tin can. It's quite a nuisance."

Dark Link began to slice Cassandra's armor off. He took his time, making sure to slice off only small pieces at a time. An arrow flew through the air at Dark Link and struck him in the back. The arrow then exploded like a bomb, causing Dark Link to fly forwards and allowing Cassandra to roll away from the evil warrior. She quickly grabbed her weapons.

Cassandra looked to see her savior was and saw a panting Link holding a bow. "Link, you shouldn't be here. I'll take care of this. You need to run."

"No, you run." Link began to argue.

"Two for one." Dark Link stated. "Fine with me. It saves the trouble of hunting you down."

"Link, lets take this guy together." Cassandra suggested.

"Agreed." Link affirmed.

Link and Cassandra attacked Dark Link. Normally, their combined skills would have been enough to defeat Dark Link, but because Link was very injured, the hero's reflexes and attacks were only slightly faster than Cassandra's. Dark Link fended off both the heroes, kicking Cassandra to the ground and then slashing at Link. Link avoided the blow, causing one of his wounds to reopen, but he didn't let the pain affect him as he fought. Link slashed at Dark Link, but the evil lookalike was able to dodge. However, he landed next to Cassandra, who took this as her opportunity to cut off his leg. Without a leg, Dark Link's speed was greatly decreased, giving Link a chance to cut off his arm and then hit him in the face with his shield, knocking the evil twin over.

Link helped Cassandra to her feet as both warriors prepared for more fighting. They were both badly injured, but they hoped they had done enough damage to even the odds.

"Very clever." Dark Link complimented as he sat up. The eye on Dark Link's chest began to glow brighter as his limbs regrew. The eye's glow dimmed once the evil doppelganger's limbs were back. "But have you forgotten I can't be killed?"

"His eye." Link spoke to Cassandra. "That his source of power. That his weakness."

"You sure?" Cassandra asked.

"Yes." Link pulled out his crossbow and the Triforce mark began to glow as he channeled all his magic into the one arrow loaded into the bow. "Only got one shot, but will kill him if hits the eye."

"Alright, I'll find a way to restrain him."

Cassandra and Link attacked Dark Link once more. Dark Link blocked Link's slash with his shield and cut Cassandra's sword in half. The evil twin then kicked Cassandra and flipped her onto her back. Dark Link shot a blast of black flames towards Link. Link jumped back and raised his shield to protect himself from the attack.

'_Now's my chance.'_ Link thought, raising his crossbow in his other hand.

Link fired an arrow of gold light out of his bow towards Dark Link. The arrow cut through the flames and flew towards the evil twin. Seeing the arrow, Dark Link was about to jump out of the way when Cassandra grabbed his leg.

Link thought it was a guaranteed victory until Dark Link stabbed Cassandra in the stomach, forcing her to let go. Dark Link avoided the arrow just in time.

"No!" Link cried.

Dark Link dashed towards Link and ran his blade through the Hylian's stomach. He moved his blade upwards while it was inside Link's body, causing a large gash in the hero. When he removed his blade, the Hylian hero fell unconscious.

Still conscious, but unable to stand, Cassandra saw Link's arrow a few feet away from her, still carrying its energy. Cassandra began to pull herself towards the arrow in an army crawl fashion.

"I don't think so." Dark Link chuckled. He walked over to Cassandra and grabbed her before she could touch the arrow.

Dark Link flipped Cassandra over to her back and grinned at her wickedly as he saw a single tear fall down her eye. She had been so close to victory and now it had all been taken from her.

"Oh, don't feel so bad." Dark Link tantalized. "Your death will be quite quick, unlike Link's."

Dark Link put his hands around Cassandra's neck and began to squeeze.

'_Hephaestus, I don't know if you can hear me, but please, help me.'_ Cassandra begged. She had never turned to the gods for help before, and she probably wouldn't have if it was only her life that was in jeopardy. However, it wasn't just her life, but also Link's, and she would do anything, ANYTHING, to save her friend. _'Even if you can't find it in your heart to do something to save my life, at least do something to save Link's. Just please, please don't let him die.'_

Out of nowhere, a bullet flew towards Dark Link. Dark Link quickly released Cassandra and dodged the bullet. That was all the time Cassandra needed; she grabbed the arrow lying on the ground and shoved it into the eye on Dark Link's chest.

"What?" Dark Link gasped. "NO!" The villain screamed in pain as gold lightning pulsed out of the arrow and around his body. Beams of light began to burst out of Dark Link's body as he then exploded in a giant ray of gold light.

After her battle, Cassandra finally fell unconscious from exhaustion and blood loss. Dark clouds began to fall over the two unconscious warriors as it began to rain. Link awoke and saw Cassandra's unconscious body now drenched from water and blood. Link took out his bottle of milk, but his bottle must have been damaged in the fight. There was a leak and only enough milk for one person remained. Link looked at Cassandra and knew what he had to do. The hero began to pull himself towards the Athenian woman, despite his great pain. He collapsed several times, but continued to move towards her.

"Cassandra…drink…this." Link poured the bottle of milk into the woman's mouth and touched a muscle on her throat to make her swallow it. Link then finally collapsed from his injuries as Cassandra's began to heal.

Cassandra awoke to find a half-dead Link lying next to her.

"Link, no." Cassandra began to cry. "I just don't understand. Why would Hephaestus save my life and not yours?"

Cassandra put her finger to Link's neck and felt a pulse. He was still alive, but she wasn't sure how much longer.

"I won't let you die." Cassandra growled. She tossed Link onto her back as she began to walk towards town with Link. She hadn't drank enough of the milk to fully recover and the cold rain caused chills down her spine. Since most of her armor was destroyed, she had no insulation, and the tunic that draped over the armor was almost worthless for insulation. Cassandra didn't care. Even if she caught pneumonia, she promised that she would save Link's life even if she died, and she intended to keep that promise.

Cassandra continued to stagger towards town when she finally collapsed from exhaustion.

"I'm sorry, Link."

Cassandra awoke in a warm bed, still shivering with an icepack on her forehead. Across the room from her was Taki and Mi-na, each laying their own beds.

"Welcome to the club." Mi-na greeted.

"Link? Where's Link?" Cassandra quickly became panicked.

"Look next to you."

Cassandra turned her head to see a conscious and now bandaged Link.

"Good to see you awake." Link greeted with his silly smile. It was as if his life was never in danger in the first place.

"Don't give me that stupid smile of yours!" Cassandra growled. "I swear you're so, so, I don't know the word. I know full well that you gave me that milk of yours so I would live. You could have died."

"But I not dead." Link smirked.

"You should really be thanking Link." Sophitia admonished as she walked into the room. "If it weren't for Link risking his life, you wouldn't be here right now."

"Wrong." Link corrected. "It was Cassandra who saved my life."

"What?" Sophitia gasped. She couldn't believe her little sister could have actually saved a warrior as powerful as Link.

"I would have died many times if Cassandra not help me. She real hero today."

"Is that so?" Sophitia commented walking over to her sister. "Well sis, I guess you're finally growing up."

"Gee, thanks." Cassandra snorted.

"Don't thank me yet. With adulthood comes responsibility. And your first responsibility will be to help Rothion remake the armor, sword, and shield you broke in battle. I'm surprised Hephaestus doesn't strike you down with lightning for breaking a sword he helped make.

"Hey sis, I was wrong about Hephaestus." Cassandra finally admitted. "He still does protect us. It's just in his own way."

"I'm happy to hear you say that. Anyway, get some rest. I am proud of you."

Sophitia bent down and kissed her sister on the cheek, then left the room.

"Taki, how did Link and I get here anyway?" Cassandra asked.

"Epona woke everyone up." Taki explained. "She drew a picture to explain what was going on. We all rushed to help Link, realizing if there was something strong enough to defeat him, it would take all of us to beat it. We found you and Link unconscious, treated his wounds, and brought him back here as soon as possible."

"I feel like such a burden." Cassandra commented. "I know you said I saved you, Link, to get Sophitia off my back, but we both know that's not true. In the end, I should have woken the others to help you instead of going by myself. I was so stupid. I was almost worthless in that battle and you had to save me again. I guess I just wanted to do something helpful for a change."

"Cassandra, never call yourself 'worthless' again." Link ordered in a powerful voice. "You are not worthless. Just because you not as experienced as a warrior and need help sometimes does not mean you are a burden and not helpful. When I first started being a hero, I needed saving too. You already much stronger than when we first met and will someday be greater warrior than Sophitia. You always assistance during journey and still are. You did save me, Cassandra. It's because of you I'm still alive, and only you."

"Link, thank you." A tear of happiness began to fall down her cheek. _'I know Link is going to leave us in the end and loving him will never work out, but that still won't prevent me from protecting and helping him in any way possible. And who knows? Maybe in the end, he will stay with us.'_

"Oh, that was such a touching speech, Link." Mi-na teased. "And you made Cassandra blush."

"Shut up!" Cassandra ordered. "You don't even act sad that Link's so injured.

"I'm sad he's hurt, but I'm happy he has to lie in bed near me all day in nothing but a short pair of pants. I need some eye candy."

"What's eye candy?" Link was confused by the weird phrase.

"You don't want to know." Taki informed.

Talim and Xianghua were fighting over who got to change Link's bandages when they heard a knock on the door.

"Who could want something this late at night?" Rothion asked. "Or rather, this early in the morning?"

Rothion answered the door to find the person who had employed him to make the armor. The employer was an old man with a long white beard and a blue symbol on his forehead.

"Oh." Rothion began to stammer. "Could I please get an extension on our contract? I promise to give you fifty percent off."

"Don't bother." The old man ordered. "The armor has already served its purpose. Here's the money I promised to pay you." Edge Master handed a bag of coins to Rothion. "And here's an extra bonus." Edge Master then pulled out a short blade; shaped similar to the one Cassandra had lost in battle.

"You needed the armor earlier than expected, but nonetheless, everything turned out fine." Edge Master informed. "Have a good morning and get some sleep."

With that the old man vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving a very baffled Rothion.

"Don't I know that guy from somewhere?" Rothion began to wonder.

Raphael walked through the woods, holding a rifle in his hand. It had been a close call, but he had made it in time and, no one, not even the white-cloaked figure knew about it.


	34. Chapter 33 Suspicions Begin

Ch. 33 Suspicions Begin

It didn't matter what town was lived in, they all had their slums. The slums in this particular town were a dangerous place to live. Guards were hardly present, unless they were trying to hunt someone down. Even when the guards were around, they would rarely waste their time to protect the poor. Athens was no exception to this, and these slums were even more dangerous once night fell. People took cover in what little homes they had or tried their best to hide and avoid trouble. Today was particularly eerie. The moon was nearly full, but clouds partially covered it, preventing its glow from reaching the earth. Only daemons and other creatures of the night would dare venture alone in such a place, at such a time. However, it wasn't the daemons that people worried about.

A young woman ran down the streets frantically. Behind her was a girl holding her hand, the child was practically dragged as the two ran. Behind the two females were three burley men. The woman took a sharp turn down an alley, hoping to lose her pursuers. However, the alley ended in a dead end, with a brick wall in front of her.

"Where are you going sweetheart?" One of the men asked. They entered the alley. "Come on, we're just here to keep you company. You know, this place isn't safe for a woman to be alone."

The woman was trapped now between the brick wall and the three men. She gripped the girl tightly in her arms to do what she could to protect her.

"Please, do as you wish to me." The woman begged. "Just don't harm my daughter."

"Oh, I don't know if we can promise that." Another one of the men approached, looking at the younger girl. She had to have been around the age of thirteen while her mom was around thirty.

"Your daughter looks like a little cutie. She'd be worth quite a bit if we were planning to sell her to the slave traders."

The man reached out to grab the girl when a black gloved hand grabbed his arm and pulled it back.

"Haven't you ever heard of keeping your hands to yourself?" A deep and menacing voice asked.

The man turned and peered into the glowing green eyes of a black and white masked creature. The creature was perched on the side of the building, somehow defying gravity. It dressed in a black and white outfit with a large red cape and chains hanging down.

The man was petrified as he stared into the eyes of the daemon. All he could do was tremble as the bones in his arm were grinded to dust from the daemon's grip. Without warning, the man released a piercing scream as his arm was torn from its shoulder. The daemon grabbed the man by the shirt and smashed him into the brick wall with such might that the wall crumbled. The daemon released what was left of the dead man's deformed body and turned his attentions to the other two men.

"What in the world is that thing?" One of the men gasped.

"I don't know." The other cried. "Kill it!"

Both of the men drew their swords to attack, but they were too slow. The green-eyed demon jumped towards the two men. With a single slap, he sent one of them crashing into a wall. The daemon then turned to punch the last man. The man raised his blade towards the daemon, but with a single blow, the green-eyed monster shattered the blade and punched through the man's chest, killing him instantly. The green-eyed daemon pulled his fist out of the man's body and threw the body to the side.

"I suggest that if you don't want the same to happen to you, you'll get the hell out of here." The daemon informed the woman.

The woman quickly grabbed her daughter and ran through the large hole in the brick wall the monster had made by killing the first man.

"Well, that was rather entertaining to watch." Raphael commented as he walked out of the shadows. "I haven't seen a daemon fight like that before. Don't tell me you have a soft spot for maidens in distress."

"What do you want?" Spawn asked.

"Well apparently our 'leader' has called us forth." Raphael informed. "He would like to meet with us."

"Typical." Spawn snorted.

The Hell spawn was about to leave the alley when he heard the moaning of a man. Apparently, one hadn't died when he struck the wall. Spawn walked over to the man and picked him up by his skull.

"Please, have mercy." The man whimpered. "I don't want to die. I'm afraid to die. Please, I…"

"Burn in Hell!" Spawn roared as the man's body was engulfed in green flames. The man released a petrifying scream before his body was reduced to ashes.

"Coming?" Spawn asked the nobleman, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

Raphael twisted his face in disgust as he followed Spawn into the portal.

The white-hooded figure entered his secret base, known as the Money Pit. A portal opened behind the white-cloaked figure as Raphael and Spawn walked out.

"Tell me, do you sense that?" The white-hooded figure asked.

"The shards of Soul Edge you collected are gone." Spawn reported, sensing the lack of dark energy that usually filled the place.

The white-hooded figure quickly looked towards a statue and noticed it was removed from the wall, indicating that someone had gone into his secret room.

"But the only one who was here was Voldo, and that assassin kills anyone who even gets close to this island." Raphael informed.

"I see we have a traitor then." The white-hooded figure informed. "He must have figured out I was only pretending to be his dead master's spirit talking."

"Should I go after him?" Spawn offered. "I can kill him in a second if you desire."

"All in good time. We have more important matters at hand then to worry about him." The white-hooded figure responded. "Raphael, you offered to eliminate the Hero of Time for me if I would assist you in world domination and protecting your daughter. Our contract is about up, so I suggest you keep your end of the bargain."

"I thought Shadow was going to do that. After all, he was so confident in himself." Spawn spoke up.

"Raphael, now the deed falls upon you. Eliminate the Hero of Time, and our bargain will be complete."

"I see." Raphael smirked as he walked out of the Money Pit and used a portal the white-hooded figure created. He arrived just outside of Athens.

The white-hooded figure knew nothing of Raphael's plans. It was he who had secretly helped Voldo discover the truth about his so-called 'Master,' and had run off with the shards of Soul Edge. However no one, not even the assassin, realized that Raphael had manipulated everything from the dark to get those results. Raphael knew the white-hooded figure saw him as a simple pawn and would betray him as soon as he was no use. However, Raphael had his own plan and was prepared for the white-hooded figure to make his move.

Raphael sensed a presence and turned around to see Ivy sneaking through the portal Raphael had just exited.

"Looks like things just got interesting." Raphael chuckled.

Ivy snuck through the portal before it closed and she found herself in the Money Pit. She wasn't quite sure where she was, but she guessed she was somewhere in the rumored Money Pit that was said to exist in the Mediterranean Sea. Ivy heard voices and she quickly hid in the shadows. The two voices were discussing their plans about what to do with Link and Raphael, and what they had in store for the world.

"Are you sure we can trust him?" One of the voices asked.

"About as much as I would trust you if I wasn't the one giving you your powers. As soon as he's played his part, we'll get rid of him. Make sure he does his job right. After that, take care of Voldo."

"Very well, master."

The green-eyed daemon with the red cape walked by Ivy's hiding spot. He stopped for a second and glanced to where she was hiding in the shadows. Ivy took several silent steps back, trying to better hide herself from the daemon's sight. However, her blade was ready in case of attack.

The daemon muttered to himself, "Bastard." as he turned and walked away.

Once the daemon was gone, Ivy crept towards the white-hooded man. The white-haired woman poised her whip, ready to kill the man in a second.

"So witch, you were able to reach this base. How clever of you." The white-hooded figure commented dryly. He didn't turn to face the woman.

Without warning, the white-cloaked man threw a ball of red lightning at Ivy, but the white-haired woman was able to dodge the attack.

The ball of lightning struck the wall, causing it to crumble. The white-hooded man scowled underneath his cloak.

"I would hate to destroy my base, so let's continue this fight somewhere else."

A dark portal appeared above Ivy. Ivy suddenly felt her body being levitated and restrained by an invisible force. She noticed that the white-hooded figure had his fist clenched and was raising her into the air. The white-hooded figure then flung his hand as if he was throwing a ball and Ivy was thrown into the portal. The white-hooded figure jumped through the portal as well.

Ivy found herself in a rocky area when the white-hooded figure appeared in front of her.

"You wish to finish this?" The white-hooded figure requested.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do." Ivy growled. Her sword transformed into its whip form and she flung it towards the white-hooded figure in a stabbing like motion.

The white-hooded figure raised his hand as if indicating for it to stop and the whip stopped an inch away from his hand. Red lightning surrounded Ivy's Snake Sword, causing the links of the blade to fall apart.

"Sorry, did I break your weapon?" The white-hooded figure chuckled.

With a flick of her wrist, all the links on her blade flew into the air and surrounded the white-hooded figure.

"Now finish him." Ivy ordered her blade as the sharp links of metal flew towards the white-hooded figure simultaneously. The white-hooded figure teleported in the air and avoided the links.

With another flick of Ivy's wrist, the links flew upward towards the white-hooded figure. A sword made of red energy appeared in the white-hooded figure's hand. He blocked the links with it and then hovered back to the ground.

"I'm not done yet." Ivy informed as the links rejoined to form her snake blade again. "Even when my blade separates, I can easily put it back together with a mere thought."

"I see, so you truly are a witch." The white-hooded figure commented. "Witch or not, you cannot beat a god."

"Humph, you're no god." Ivy hissed, slashed her whip-like blade at the white-hooded figure.

The white-hooded figure raised a red barrier around his body, protecting him from the attacks. He then released a force blast towards Ivy, who was able to dodge the attack as the attack sent a large rock several feet through the air. Ivy then felt her body being levitated, but this time she couldn't move or breathe.

Ivy was flung into the side of the mountain several times by the psychic force and then thrown to the ground roughly. The white-hooded figure clenched his fist one last time, causing a rock slide to fall down on top of the white-haired woman. At the very last moment, Ivy grabbed her snake sword as she was buried underneath the rubble.

"Well, that takes care of that." The white-hooded figure spoke, opening a portal and walking through it.

Once the white-hooded figure was gone, Ivy's whip shot through the rocks and Ivy pulled herself out of the rubble. At the very last moment, she was able to surround herself with her whip, forming a sort of metal cocoon around her body to protect her from being crushed.

"I've got to warn that elf about what he's dealing with!" Ivy grunted as she pulled herself up. She was able to stand and walk, but was too badly bruised from her battle against the white-cloaked man and had trouble supporting herself. He hadn't even used a weapon or shards of Soul Edge against her, but he still disposed of her as if she was nothing. If that man ever got a hold of Soul Edge or even shards of the cursed blade, he would be unstoppable.

Talim and Xianghua were fighting over who got to change Link's bandages and apply the ointment.

"But Xianghua, you changed his bandages last time! It's my turn." Talim whined.

"No way! I'm going to be the one who takes care of Link, not you. After all, I'm an experienced warrior and you're too young to even think some of the thoughts that go through your head."

"I am not too young. And I'm the one who took care of Link when he first arrived."

"Oh brother." Kilik growled. He stood up and left the house. "I'm sick of listening to this."

"Yes, he's finally getting jealous." Xianghua giggled.

"What?" Talim asked, suddenly confused.

"Thanks for playing along, Talim. I mean I realize Link's cute, strong, sweet, and perfect in almost every way, but there's only one man I have my eyes on. Even Link knows I'm only pretending."

Talim suddenly let out a sigh of relief when she learned Xianghua wasn't interested in Link. Cassandra was hard enough to compete with and even Taki hinted she was interested in Link. However, Xianghua would have been impossible to compete with. She was so beautiful and such a great warrior.

"Wait! How did you know I liked Link?" Talim suddenly chirped.

"Oh come on! Like that isn't obvious!" Xianghua giggled. "Well, at least to a girl's perspective, it's obvious. Men, on the other hand, can be completely clueless about these kinds of things. You give them hint after hint and they still don't get it."

Xianghua gave Talim the bandages she had taken from the girl. "Here you go; taking care of Link is up to you. You probably know more about it than I do. So was Link this beat up when you first met him? How many times does that guy get injured?"

"Well, he gets injured a lot because he's always willing to sacrifice his own well being for others. I first found Link unconscious and badly wounded on the side of the road. I nursed him back to health and was shocked by how quickly he could move around. Most people would have needed a couple days' rest before getting up and moving around, but Link was able to move around after only one night's sleep. He truly is an amazing person."

"Well, anyway, I'll see ya later, kiddo. Good luck with Link." Xianghua walked out the door to most likely chase after Kilik.

Talim looked at the bandages and suddenly felt guilty. When she first met Link she took care of him not because she had a crush on him but because it was the right thing to do. Now she was easily jealous and wanted to help him for her own selfish reasons. Talim walked up and handed the bandages to Raphael, who was reading a book.

"What are these for?" Raphael asked.

"I think it would be better if a male would bandage Link and apply his medicines to his wounds." Talim informed shyly.

"Well, if you say so. I'll do my best." Raphael reluctantly agreed.

Raphael went into the room where Link rested. Amy sat right next to him. As soon as Amy heard what happened to Link and Cassandra, she ran into the room and never left their sides. Cassandra was fine, but Link remained. However, Amy refused to leave the room even when Talim, Sophitia, or Cassandra tried to get her to go outside and play.

"How's he doing?" Raphael asked.

"Good." Amy commented. "His wounds are healing very quickly. He may be back on his feet after another day's rest."

"Well, I would say that is quick healing." Raphael commented. "Amy, would you please help me apply Link's bandages? I'm not really good at that, but I know you acquired that skill somewhere."

"Yes." Amy responded. Amy removed Link's bandages from his skin and applied the medicine to his wounds. She then reapplied new bandages. Treating an injured person was nothing new to Amy, as she had done so in the past when Raphael had come home from his first adventure, badly injured from his battle against Nightmare.

Link seemed to wake up as Amy finished tightening the bandages.

"How are you?" Amy asked.

"Good." Link responded, sitting up.

"You should continue resting until you recover fully." Amy suggested.

"What happened to others?" Link asked, noticing that Cassandra, Taki, and Mi-na were all gone.

"Cassandra got over her cold, and Taki and Mi-na's wounds were finally healed, so they left this morning." Amy informed.

"You haven't left since I got injured?" Link stated to Amy. "Thank you, but no worries for me. I be O.K. soon. Go out and have fun."

"I'd rather stay here until you're healed." Amy informed.

"That's my Amy for you." Raphael chuckled. "Don't bother trying to convince her to leave, Link. My daughter may not open up to many people, but once she does, you won't find anyone more loyal. Amy, could you please leave us alone for a while? I need to speak to Link alone for a moment."

Amy looked at her father. She was hesitant to leave Link's side, but Link gave her a reassuring look.

"It'll only be for a second and then you can come nurse him back to health." Raphael assured.

Wanting to keep her father happy, Amy did as he told her.

"Say Link, I know this isn't the time, but you know about the truth behind Amy and me, right?" Raphael decided to double check.

"Yes. Taki said you were cursed by Soul Edge."

"Yes. Well, when you get better, I'd like to speak to you about my curse in more detail. Pprivately. That is, if you trust me."

"Of course I trust you." Link responded.

"Excellent. When you're ready, we'll head west of town to speak, but until then, get your rest. That's what is most important right now." Raphael turned to call his daughter. "O.K. Amy, you can come in now."

On cue, Amy quickly came back in and sat next to Link's bed.

"I'll leave you alone now. Ta ta." Raphael spoke as he left the room.

Taki and Mi-na were outside stretching. Lying in bed for so long had stiffened their joints and it felt good for them to move around again. The first thing Taki wanted to do was practice her fighting skills to make sure she wasn't rusty. Taki raised her leg so that her foot touched her head. She then dropped her leg and bent backwards in an arch, touching the ground with her hands.

"Boy, are you limber." Mi-na complimented. "Anyway, I'm going to go see what Yun-Seong is up to. It's been awhile since I got to kick his butt."

"He's currently working construction." Taki informed.

"Thanks! See ya later." Mi-na waved as she left the ninja alone.

"It's good to see you're up." Mitsurugi said to Taki as he walked towards the ninja. "Don't push yourself though. Your body is used to lying down. We will have plenty of time to kill each other once your body has its endurance back."

"It's nice to see you care about me so much." Taki snorted. "By the way, thanks for being so thorough to my injuries and helping Link and I back there."

"As I said before, you and Link are…"

"Yeah, I know already." Taki interrupted Mitsurugi. She ignored the samurai as she continued to stretch in ways that seemed impossible.

The next morning, Link was up and feeling healthy.

"Should you be up?" Amy questioned the Hylian.

"I'm fine, don't worry." Link assured as he walked out of the room.

"Hurray! Mr. Elf is back." Patroklos cheered.

"Yeah, Mr. Elf is back." Pyrrha echoed.

"Enough, you two. Don't crowd him." Sophitia warned. "Link, how are you feeling? Should you really be up after only three days of rest? Taki had to rest for a week before she could even move much and then another week before her wounds were most healed."

"I'm fine, see." Link stated, showing his chest. The scars were still present from his fight, but his wounds had closed.

"Well, O.K. Be careful if you go out, though. We don't want to see you get trampled by a crowd." Sophitia parented Link the same way she did Cassandra.

"Right." Link chuckled.

"Will you play with us now, Mr. Elf.?" The children asked in unison.

Link turned and noticed that Amy stayed in the back room and hid behind the door as soon as the other children began to cling to Link's legs.

"Maybe later." Link offered.

"You heard him, you two." Sophitia instructed. "Come on, it's time for you two to go outside and burn off some of your energy." Sophitia took both children by the hand and led them outside as they waved to Link.

Link walked back into the room where Amy played her ocarina. She played some songs Link had given her.

"Hi." Link greeted with a smile. "You want to go outside? I been lying down long time now and would like to stretch my muscles and maybe spar."

Amy looked up at Link and nodded with a smile. Both of them grabbed their weapons and headed towards the field by the river.

While Link sparred with Amy, he was surprised by her skill. For someone so young, she fought fairly well. Her moves were executed with the utmost grace and she had perfect form, but she made simple mistakes, such as letting her guard down and not keeping her eye on her opponent. It was clear to Link that she had learned how to fight mostly from watching her father, due to the similarities in style, but she had actually sparred very little in her life. That would explain the perfect form but lack of experience.

"Keep guard up." Link instructed. "Watch my feet and shield, not just sword." Link slashed at Amy, but the girl managed to block the attack and then dodged a blow from Link's shield.

"Good." Link complemented. "Ready to go back?"

"Not really. I don't like the others." Amy admitted, looking down to the ground. "I mean Cassandra is O.K., but the rest I don't like very well. Especially Talim."

"You don't like Talim?" Link asked shocked. Talim wasn't mean to anyone and had always spoken very sweetly to Amy when Link was around. How could Amy dislike her so much? "Why?"

"Conflict in personality." Amy informed.

"Oh." Link responded, still a little speechless.

"Link!" Talim called, waving at his from on top of a hill. "Hey Pyrrha! Patroklos! I found him!"

Sophitia's two children ran down to greet the Hylian hero, with Talim close behind. Talim carried a basket with her.

"We brought you lunch." Talin informed.

"Mommy made it for us." Pyrrha informed.

"Yeah, its really yummy." Patroklos added.

"Innocence." Amy snorted quietly to herself as she got up and began to leave.

"Oh, Amy, wait. There's enough for you, too." Talim offered.

"No thanks. I'd rather eat with my father." Amy informed. She headed towards the library where she knew she'd find Raphael.

"Poor Amy." Talim spoke once the girl was gone. "I feel so bad for her. Raphael is hardly around to spend time with her. I guess she likes to spend as much time as possible with him."

"Yeah." Link agreed silently. He didn't have the heart to tell Talim the real reason Amy left.

"Oh, let's get the food ready." Talim opened the basket and spread out a blanket as she prepared the food.

"Thank you." Link thanked his friend again. He wondered again how Amy could dislike Talim. Talim was one of the few girls Link felt comfortable around. After the Shadow Link incident, Link felt more comfortable around Cassandra, but when he first met her, the woman had really frightened him. Then there was Mi-na and Xianghua, who loved to tease him when Talim wasn't around. The teasing was harmless, but annoying all the same.

In fact, the only nice girls who never hit on Link were Talim, Sophitia, and Taki. Granted, Ivy and Sophitia didn't really count, leaving only Talim. Come to think of it, Link had never met anyone as sweet and innocent as Talim since…well, Saria.

Link couldn't help but smile as he took a piece of food. He further reminisced about the trouble he and Saria got into and how Talim and she were so alike.

"Look, Mr. Elf is smiling." Pyrrha announced. "He must really like the food."

"Oh yes, must tell Sophitia thank you for meal." Link commented.

Link then looked at Talim and smiled. Never failing to blush, Talim quickly picked up a large piece of food to hide her face so Link couldn't see her turn pink.

"Talim, what are you doing?" Link asked.

"Oh, just grabbing some food."

"You eat a lot." Link stated in amazement.

"Hey." Talim shouted, pretending to be offended by the Hylian's blunt comment. "Hasn't anyone told that's rude to say?"

Talim gave Link playful shove.

"Uh oh! Mr. Elf, you're in trouble." Pyrrha informed. "You're not supposed to say that to a lady."

"Yeah, that's right." Talim pretended to pout. "Go get him, you two."

The children playfully tried to tackle Link. Link laughed as he and the two children roughhoused together. A large shadow loomed over Link and the others, causing them to stop playing and look up at Mitsurugi. Scared of the Samurai, the two children hid behind Link.

"It only Mitsurugi, he not scary." Link informed.

"You're the only person still alive who would say that, Link." Mitsurugi informed. "Time for the children to go home while the adults talk, you three."

"But Link's a child too." Talim forgot that Link was an adult because he was shorter than most men and was so playful.

"Despite his appearance, he is an adult." Mitsurugi informed. "Now go!"

The two children ran out from behind Link and hid behind Talim since she was further away from the scary samurai.

"Fine, but you need to ask nicely." Talim took the two children by the hand. "Come on, you two. It's time to go home."

Talim led the two children away while Link scowled at Mitsurugi. "Could have asked nice."

Mitsurugi ignored Link's commented and got to his point. "You'd better watch your back, Link. Or haven't you learned your lesson about refusing to take me and Siegfried with you where ever you go?" Mitsurugi reminded Link, forcing the Hylian to remember that whenever he ventured alone, he would get into some sort of trouble.

"Sorry." Link apologized.

"Forget about it. I only wanted to tell you something that I should have told you a long time ago, but I never got the chance."

"What?" Link asked.

"Ivy wants Raphael dead." Mitsurugi informed.

"I see." Link responded. "No one seems to like her."

"She has a dirty past." Mitsurugi continued. "Anyway, I don't know why Ivy wants Raphael dead. I was just a mercenary working for her at the time and didn't ask questions. For all I know, it was for personal gain since they're both nobles, but something tells me it was for a different reason. However, she acted like it was for the best that he was dead. On the other hand, I never fully trusted that witch, so I don't even know if she was evil or not."

"Ivy not evil. She is a good person." Link argued. He then thought about what Ivy had said before she left. _"Keep in mind that not all your friends are what they appear to be."_

However, Link quickly cleared his head of those thoughts, deciding that Raphael wasn't dangerous.

"Hmpf, I think the only person who believes that is you, Link. The only reason that woman saved your life in the first place is because it benefited her plans. That I know for a fact."

Link frowned at Mitsurugi, still disagreeing with the samurai. Mitsurugi didn't push the issue. Instead he continued to speak. "However, I also trust Raphael. He helped us many times and seemed like good person. If worries appear, I talk to him later."

Link nodded. "Excuse me; I have to catch up to Amy."

Link ran to catch up to the girl and Mitsurugi could only murmur to himself. "That guy is way too trusting."

Amy walked into the library with a plate of food for her father and herself.

"Oh, you brought lunch." Raphael smiled. "Thank you, my dear. That was very kind of you. Please set it on the table and I'll eat it soon."

Amy set the food on the table and waited until Raphael finished putting his book away to eat.

"No need to wait for me, my dear." Raphael assured. As he approached Amy, he noticed the sad look on her face. "My dear, what is wrong?"

"Nothing." Amy commented. "Just worried that Link will leave us."

"Oh, is that what has been troubling you? That is something you don't have to worry about. I can personally promise you that Link will never leave us."

"How do you know?" Amy noticed a strange glimmer in her father's eyes. That glimmer usually indicated he was concocting a plan.

"Call it father's intuition, my dear."


	35. Chapter 34 Vampires and Werewolves

Ch. 34 Vampires and Werewolves

The sun was about to set as Link prepared for bed. Raphael grabbed Link's shoulder.

"Link, can we have our talk now?" Raphael asked in a hushed voice.

"Now? It's late." Link stated.

"I know, but I can't wait. Please follow me." Raphael whispered.

Link thought about Mitsurugi and Ivy's words, but once again put them out of his head. Raphael hadn't done anything untrustworthy yet, so there was no reason to distrust him. Besides, at least he wasn't going out by himself again.

Raphael led Link west of Athens.

"Raphael, it nighttime. What about your blood thirst?" Link warned.

"Don't worry. I already drained the blood of some animals last night, so I'll be perfectly fine."

"O.K. Why did you bring me so far outside of town? What is this important?" Link questioned. Mitsurugi and Ivy's warnings were still echoing in his head despite his attempts to silence them.

"Well, I guess it would be best if I began with the story of a nobleman. A long time ago, there lived a young noble. Upon walking the streets, that young noble came across a man who had lost his mind. He had been affected by the powers of Soul Edge and tried to kill the young noble. Out of self defense, the young noble killed the crazed man. However, that one battle changed the noble's life forever. The man was actually a member of one of the most powerful families in France, and the young noble's family served under this powerful family. Unwilling to listen to the noble's explanation, his family cast him out and he became a wanted man. The young noble spent months in hiding, for if he was caught, he would be killed. While that young nobleman was being hunted by guards, he came across a young orphan girl who offered him a place to hide. The noble was so touched by the girl's unselfish act that he took the small girl in as his own. The young noble was able to change his name and became the ruler of a small town. However, with a new adopted daughter, the nobleman had new plans. His daughter remained frightened. She closed herself away from everyone and nothing he did seemed to cure the girl's broken heart. He also feared that the warmongering nobles would someday find him, and then his daughter's life would be in jeopardy. That was when he discovered Soul Edge. He realized that if the nobles took his sword, they would destroy Europe with their petty ambitions. The nobleman also realized that if he obtained Soul Edge, he could destroy the nobles and secure a safe future for his daughter. Leaving his daughter in the care of his most trusted servants, the nobleman left to find Soul Edge for his daughter's sake. That nobleman found Soul Edge and its current owner, Nightmare, or Siegfried, as we know him now. The nobleman fought Nightmare for the blade, but was easily defeated. He knew that if he failed, no one could care for his daughter. The nobleman found the strength inside himself to pierce the eye of Soul Edge, weakening the blade and causing Nightmare to become even more insane. Holding his head as if he heard loud voices inside, Nightmare ran from the nobleman, taking Soul Edge with him. The nobleman dragged himself back to his daughter, who selflessly tended to his wounds. However, life was about to become even more difficult for the nobleman and his innocent child. While fighting Nightmare, Soul Edge's evil energy entered the nobleman's blood, transforming him into a creature of the night. The nobleman seemed fairly normal by day, but at night, he found he had super human strength and speed. However, these abilities came with a price. The nobleman also had a strong desire for blood and he could no longer sleep at night, but he always felt drowsy during the day. To make matters worse, his daughter was also cursed since she had handled his blood. Luckily, the nobleman's daughter was not affected as severely. She didn't have the strong blood lusts and she could sleep during the night. Since the nobleman's daughter was no longer human, convincing her to open up to the world was even more difficult. She and her father were no longer human. People feared them and wanted to destroy them. Deciding that the only way to secure a bright future in this world for his daughter was to conquer it, he set out once more for Soul Edge. Even today, that young nobleman seeks Soul Edge so he can rule the world and provide a happy and safe future for his daughter."

"I see." Link replied, as he put the pieces of the story together.

Link drew his sword and spun around to block a blow from Raphael's sword.

"What they said is true. You out to kill me." Link's voice was filled with pain. The hero looked like he was about to cry from the betrayal he felt. "You and Amy against us from beginning. You just used me. Never cared about us. How many attacks were because of you?"

"Oh, about three or four." Raphael admitted, jumping back from Link. "However, don't you dare accuse Amy! She knew nothing. Her feelings for you are true. That is why I stopped trying to kill you and decided to use you for other things."

"Such as?" Link questioned even though he had little interest in the crazed noble's desires.

"Watch."

The sun set over Raphael and Link. Raphael's body began to change. His eyes began to glow red he grew a pair of fangs. His skin turned a grayish color as his nails grew in length and became like a beast's. The nobleman threw off his black cape and shirt, revealing a long-sleeved purple vest underneath his garments. Finally, the nobleman grabbed what looked like a red masquerade mask from his pocket and put it on to cover his eyes and the top of his nose.

"Well now, shall we begin our dance?"

Amy awoke in the middle of the night. Something just didn't feel right to her. The girl looked at the full moon hanging in the sky outside her window and then went downstairs to speak to Link. As Amy quietly crept downstairs, she searched for Link, only to find he was gone. Listening to her feeling of worry, she ran outside and found his footprints along with another set of footprints. Amy recognized the footprints of the shoes her father wore. Amy froze with horror as she put everything together. Her father's sudden compassion for all life, the way he spoke so friendly to Link, the fact that he didn't speak about his desire for Soul Edge. He was setting Link up! So that was why his attitude changed so suddenly. How could she have been so stupid?

"No!" Amy ran through the town as she followed Raphael and Link's footprints. Since it was nighttime, she could run at incredible speed, but she still feared she would be too late.

Link blocked Raphael's quick attacks. Raphael's speed and fighting style had surprised him. Due to Raphael's transformation, he was several times faster than a human and his fighting style didn't consist of thrusting as expected from someone using a rapier. He also fought using horizontal slashes in a style that almost seemed more fitting for a samurai than a nobleman. Link was forced to use his Triforce to increase his own speed and strength in order to keep up with the nobleman.

Link blocked another blow from Raphael and ducked to avoid a horizontal slash.

'_He's fast.'_ Link though. _'But I can now predict his moves, which will make this fight easier.'_

Link avoided another lightning quick attack.

'_His style of fighting weakness is that he can't fight well if we're close, so I just have to get close and then I can knock his sword out of his hand.' _

Link avoided another thrust from Raphael and then got close. He prepared to knock the sword out of nobleman's hand. Even though Link was furious at both himself and Raphael for being tricked, he didn't want to kill the man. Once he disarmed Raphael, he thought he might be able to gain the upper hand. However, just as Link was about to disarm the Raphael, the nobleman did something completely unexpected. The nobleman bit Link's neck.

Link yelled out in pain as strange venom flowed into his throat. He quickly broke loose of the vampire-like man's grip and pushed him away. Link fell to his hands and knees as he felt his strength leave him. Link's Triforce began to glow brighter, trying to clean Link of the foul curse, but he wasn't sure on how successful it would be.

Ivy walked into the town of Athens, limping. She had traveled for several days in an injured state without rest and was about to collapse. Siegfried, who was taking a late night walk, noticed her limping down the streets.

"Ivy?" Siegfried gasped. He called out to the woman. "Ivy!"

Ivy turned to the knight with a face full of discuss. "What do you want?" The woman spat.

"I'm surprised to see you. Why are you here?" Siegfried asked curiously. Surprisingly to Ivy, Siegfried kept his tone friendly. Most people would have started to interrogate her on the spot.

"Not that you would believe me, but I'm here to warn Link of future dangers. Where is he?"

"He left, though I don't know to where." The knight informed.

"What? Quickly, tell me which way he went!"

"I'm not sure. Why? Are you worried?"

"Like I said, I doubt you would believe me." Ivy spat.

The stubborn woman tried to limp past Siegfried, but as she was doing so, she stumbled and fell to the ground. Siegfried quickly ran to assist the woman, but she immediately pulled away from the knight.

"I don't need your help." Ivy objected.

"Ivy, you are not the only one with a past that needs repenting." Siegfried said gently. "You may have been one of Nightmare's servants four years ago, but remember, I was Nightmare. Your sins are nothing compared to mine. Now, tell me what you know. I wish to help."

"Fine! Your so-called friend Raphael is going to kill Link."

"What? I can't believe it. I remember fighting him as Nightmare, but for some reason, I thought he was fighting to protect a girl."

"I knew you wouldn't believe me. Now if you excuse me, I have an idiot elf to save."

Ivy began to walk away, but she was once again stopped by Siegfried.

"Wait! I do believe you, Ivy. I saw three pairs of tracks by the house. Maybe they can lead us somewhere. Please follow me!"

Siegfried's quickly took the lead as Ivy followed.

"I'm shocked." Ivy murmured to herself. "He's the second person to actually trust me, the first being that elf. What makes these two men so similar, but at the same time, so different?"

Link was still down on his hands on knees as his Triforce drained him of his energy so that it could protect him from the curse.

"Really, you're putting up way too much of a fight." Raphael taunted with a cheerful tone. "The poison that just entered your body isn't going to kill you, Link. You see, you've become an asset to my daughter's happiness. If you were to die, she would be so hurt, and I just wouldn't know what to do. However, I also can't let you wonder around and continue doing as you please. No offense, but you were beginning to interfere with my plans of world domination. So I decided to keep you alive, but remove you as a threat by turning you a creature like myself. Once the transformation is complete, you will be compelled to obey my every command as a faithful servant. Don't worry. I actually have no direct use for you. Instead, you're going to be Amy's pet. You'll keep all your musical talents and even your kind heart, the very things that she loves about you. You'll even keep your fighting abilities, so when I'm gone, you'll be able to protect her in my place. In fact, the only thing that will change in your personality is the desire to drink blood once in a while and the fact that you will see me as your master. Don't you see, Link? Everyone wins in this situation. Amy will remain happy for the rest of her life, you get to keep your life, and I get to create a world that Amy will be able to live in."

"If those are your reasons, you're just as sick and twisted as Ganondorf." Link hissed. He rose to his feet and pointing his sword at Raphael. "You use the excuse of making Amy happy to do whatever you want, but you really don't know how to make her happy."

"How dare you speak to your Master that way?" Raphael fumed. "I see I have to teach you some manners."

Raphael slashed at Link, but the Hylian warrior blocked the attack and slashed at Raphael. Raphael avoided the attack and struck Link in the stomach with the dull side of his blade, causing the hero to fall to the ground. Link, clenching his sword in his hand, rose to his feet, panting.

"I can't believe you can still fight like that." Raphael spoke. "Everyone I've bit has always collapsed and become my servant. Even daemons haven't been able to withstand subduing to my power. No matter. You will obey me, Link, even if I have to bite you a second time and beat the lesson into you."

"Papa, stop!" Amy's voice yelled as the girl jumped over Raphael and landed between him and Link. Amy turned to her father and raised her arms, indicating that she wouldn't let him touch Link. "Leave him alone, Papa! Don't hurt Link!"

"Amy, please step aside." The wicked nobleman requested.

"No, I refuse." Amy yelled.

"Amy, what I'm doing is for your own good. Please, do not stand against me."

"I'm not letting you hurt Link, Papa. I know you say you want to make me happy, but this won't make me happy."

"You said you wanted Link to stay with you. If he is allowed to do as he wishes, he'll ruin my plans of building a safe world for you and then he will leave you in the miserable world, alone once more. Do you want that?"

"No, I don't." Amy spoke, kneeing besides Link and wrapping her arms around him. "But I don't want you to hurt Link. I won't let you hurt him because…because…because I love him."

"Amy, I…" Raphael tried to speak, but for once found himself wordless. He didn't know what to say and he couldn't bear to actually drag Amy away from Link while he turned the hero into his slave.

"I used to believe that hope only brought disappointment." Amy admitted. "I never imagined that determination could also bring strength, but when you were gone, Link took care of me. He made me feel safe and that I could trust people again. If you try to hurt Link, then I'll fight you Papa."

Amy drew her blade and pointed it at her father; her whole body seemed to tremble.

"Amy, you know I could never harm you in anyway." Raphael sighed, putting away his blade. Raphael eyes drifted to the shadows. He knew he was being watched and he had to quickly think of a plan before he, Amy, and Link were killed.

Once Amy began to lower her blade, Raphael dashed towards Amy at a speed that was incomprehensible for her and an injured Link. He wrapped his arm around her to restrain her and drew his rapier in his other hand, running Link through.

Link hissed in pain, thinking that Raphael had just pierced his lungs and heart. Even Link wasn't strong enough to survive that deadly of a blow. Surprisingly though, Raphael missed all vital organs by just a millimeter. He still did a lot of damage, but not nearly as much as he could have done.

"Stay down, we're being watched." Raphael whispered in Link's ears as he dashed past the injured hero.

Believing this was a set up to lure Soul Edge out, Link played dead. It wasn't the first time he had to do something of that nature and was quite skilled in doing it.

"Link!" Amy screamed. "Let me go, let me go!" Amy struggled to escape her father's arms, but knew if she ran over to him, she'd find out he was alive and ruin his plan.

"You promised. You promised you wouldn't hurt him. I hate you for this, Father! I hate you!"

"Oh, that's what they all say when they don't get what they want." Spawn snorted as he walked out of the shadows. "I have to say, you're quite the coldhearted man, Raphael. Not even I expected you to do such a thing.

Raphael kept his back turned to Spawn as he spoke. "Well, of course. Did you think for a second that someone of my caliber would bond with such an inferior being?"

"I'm not sure." Spawn's red cape transformed into an ax, but before he could slash at Raphael from the back, the nobleman spun around and stabbed at him. Spawn vanished in a puff of black smoke and reappeared behind Raphael.

"Really think I'm that stupid, punk? The elf's not dead. You were planning to backstab us." Spawn snorted. "Well, I hope you and your daughter are ready to die."

"It is you who shall be vanquished from this world, daemon." Raphael hissed. "Amy, run. I'll deal with this."

Raphael released the grip on his daughter and lunged towards the daemon. Spawn appeared to have the same inhuman speed as Raphael as he blocked the nobleman's attacks with his ax and retaliated with his own attacks.

While her father and the hell-spawn were fighting, Amy ran over to Link and tried to throw him over her shoulder to drag him with her as she escaped.

"Don't." Link ordered. "I'm not hurt as bas as it looks. You escape. I be O.K."

"I refuse to leave you." Amy argued.

Spawn managed to land a kick in the nobleman's stomach, causing Raphael to skid back several feet and fall to the ground. The hell-spawn then turned his attention to Amy and Link, who he noticed was still alive.

"Touch him and you won't leave here in one piece." Amy warned the hell-spawn in her emotionless and deadly voice.

"Is that so?" Spawn laughed.

A dark aura surrounded Amy as she called forth the powers of her transformation and a pair of fangs grew in her mouth. The vampire girl stabbed at Spawn several times with the speed of her father, but the hell-spawn was able to block every single one of girl's blows.

"Impressive. If you had a chance to improve, you might actually be able to surpass your father in speed and skill. Nonetheless, you're going down." Spawn growled.

Spawn knocked the blade out of Amy's hand and picked the girl up by the throat. He then threw her to the side.

"Stay out of my way if you want to live." Spawn warned Amy.

Amy grabbed her weapon as she and Raphael attacked Spawn from both sides. Another ax appeared in Spawn's hand as he blocked the blows.

"You two are really starting to piss me off." Spawn growled as he vanished in a puff of smoke.

Spawn reappeared above the two vampires and fired a blast of green flames out of his hands.

Raphael quickly kicked his daughter out of the way of the attack, realizing she wasn't experienced enough to avoid it by herself. He then dodged the attack, but he wasn't quite fast enough as he received minor damage.

Spawn flew down in front of Link to finish him off, but Amy slashed at the hell-spawn again. The hell-spawn jumped back to avoid the attack as Amy stepped between him and the Hylian warrior.

"Last chance. Get out of my." Spawn warned.

"No." Amy answered defiantly.

"Fine! I didn't want to do this, but you left me no choice. I'm not about to let anyone stand in my way, especially if it means going back there. Die!"

Spawn's axes transformed into several sharp chains and flew towards Amy.

No one knew what happened. Blood fell to the ground, but it wasn't the blood of Amy. Link somehow used what strength he had left to appear in front of Amy, taking the blow for her.

"You son of a bitch!" Link growled in rage, causing everyone to jump. None of them had ever heard Link swear or speak so angrily before.

As everyone saw Link's form, they took a step back. Link's once soft blue eyes and sweet face had become wolf-like and fiercer than they had in any previous battle as he glared at Spawn with the utmost hate. The Hylian's blond hair became spiky and messy as claws grew on his hands. No one knew if this change was an effect of Raphael's venom, or if Link truly did have some sort of daemonic form that he had been keeping from everyone.

Link pulled the chains out of his body as he released a mighty howl. A black tornado surrounded him. The tornado vanished as quickly as it had appeared revealing Link in a new form. Amy couldn't help but take several steps backwards when she saw Link's fearsome form. Even Raphael seemed frightened.

Standing in front of everyone was a giant wolf nearly the size of Epona. Most of the wolf's fur was grey with a green tint, but his belly was white. Its neck was covered with a thick spiky wolf's mane that was the color of gold. Its ears were pierced with gold earrings and its blue eyes seemed to glow in the dark. The front paws of this ferocious beast were shaped like human hands, allowing it to better grasp enemies and claw them.

The transformation had somehow healed Link's wounds as he bared its teeth at Spawn. The wolf's hair stood back and it's back arched as he prepared to attack.

Spawn and Link charged at each other at full speed, their movements only blurs due to their advanced speed. The collision of the two beasts caused an explosion of dust to balloon into the air, preventing Amy and Raphael from viewing the fight.

Spawn and Link emerged from the dust as they both jumped into the air. Spawn tried to slash at the demonic wolf with his ax, but Link caught Spawn's arm in his mouth and bit down. Even though Spawn's skin was harder than Astaroth's, Link managed to tear into it with his fangs. Link pinned Spawn to the ground, as the earth underneath them began to crack from Link's strength.

Spawn slashed at Link with his ax, but the weapon only scratched the giant wolf as it jumped away from Spawn, taking the daemon's arm with him.

"Damn bitch." Spawn snarled. He looked at his missing arm. "Go to hell."

Spawn raised his ax and charged at Link head on. Link moved so quickly, only a blur aspirated several feet behind the hell spawn. Raphael looked to see several slash marks across Spawn's side, indicating that the wolf had attacked so quickly, he hadn't even seen it.

"Well, you're a quick one." Spawn commented to Link. "No matter."

Everyone's eyes widened as Spawn's wounds suddenly healed and a new arm grew.

"I can heal faster than you can damage me. There is no way you can win."

Spawn's weapons suddenly changed into chains with spinning double-sided axes attached to the ends. Spawn began to swing the chained-axes towards Link viciously. Even with his great speed, all Link could do was dodge the axes and try to look for an opening, but Spawn's attacks were coming so quickly, he couldn't get close. Spawn knew that despite Link's increase in speed and strength, he no weapons on him, forcing him to attack at close range. However, by using long-distance weapons, Spawn was able to render Link's new abilities helpless.

Link dodged another attack, but was cut slightly on the side.

"Pathetic mutt! Why won't you just accept your fate and die already?"

The Triforce symbol began to glow on Link's left paw as he dodged another attack. The giant wolf opened his mouth and a gold ball of energy appeared in it. Link fired the gold ball of energy towards Spawn, who quickly jumped out of the way. The gold ball of energy exploded in a large burst of flames, incinerating anything within its radius.

Spawn survived the attack as he flew out of the flames and launched several lightning bolts at Link. Link was able to dodge the attacks and counter with his gold fireballs, which Spawn continued to dodge as he hovered in the air.

Spawn fired a power blast of lightning out of both of his hands as Link fired a fireball. The two attacks struck one another, causing a large explosion as they cancelled each other out.

Link leapt through the explosion towards Spawn, but this time, Spawn was ready for the wolf. His chains wrapped around the giant wolf and flung Link to the ground. Link's landing caused a crater to form in the ground beneath him.

As Link was dragged across the ground by Spawn's chains, the giant wolf dug his claws into the ground, which allowed him to gain the proper footing. As both Link and Spawn tugged at each other, Link fired another fireball. The ball of fire hit its mark, causing Spawn to fall to the ground and release his grip on Link.

'_I don't believe this beast.'_ Spawn growled to himself. _'His fur must be stronger than steel and he doesn't act disturbed by the injuries he's received.'_

"Damn it beast, you're really starting to piss me off!" Spawn growled. "I'm going to send you and everyone in this area to Hades!"

Lightning surrounded Spawn's body. His green eyes began to glow brighter as green flames formed in the palms of his hands.

Link didn't give Spawn time to finish charging his attack. The Triforce released a bright flash as the giant wolf let out a piercing howl at Spawn, causing everyone to cover their ears.

Spawn was blown backwards, forcing him to cease his attack. The hell-spawn was blown backwards into a large rock. The rock began to crumble from the howl and Spawn was blown several more feet backwards into the ground when Link finally ceased howling. Link finished the attack with three more blasts of fire in Spawn's direction, making sure the daemon was finished.

Siegfried and Ivy followed the tracks in the ground. They covered their ears as they heard a loud howl.

"What was that?" Siegfried asked.

"I don't know, but that howl was so loud, no ordinary creature could have made it." Ivy replied.

"It came from this way." Siegfried informed.

"You think I don't know that?" Ivy spat, following the knight. _'By the sound of that howl, something bad is happening. I just hope the elf isn't dead yet.' _

Raphael and Amy uncovered their ears and looked at Link.

"What kind of attack was that?" Raphael wondered.

With Spawn defeated, Link began to walk towards Amy, who stumbled away from the giant wolf.

Seeing that Amy was scared of him, Link stopped walking towards the girl. The wolf dropped his head and let out a small whimper.

Amy studied the wolf for a few minutes. Its actions told her that despite Link's menacing appearance on the outside, he was still Link on the inside. Amy slowly approached the fearsome beast, holding out hand as if she going to pet him.

Link lifted his head as the girl knelt down besides him and tried to put her arms around his giant neck to hug him. Link sat down, gently putting his head against her body.

"As sweet as that is, I still have a job to do." Spawn's demonic voice announced. He appeared out of the smoke. His body was filled with injuries and his costume was torn to shreds. The parts of his skin that were visible looked decrepit and burnt to a crisp; almost as if he was a re-dead. Spawn's wounds and costume were already repairing themselves, bringing the daemon back to full health. The green flames were still in his hands as he prepared to attack.

"I have nothing personal against you, dog face, but I have a job to do, and you're really starting to piss me off."

Link stood up and growled at the hell-spawn. Spawn's wounds had healed by magic and he was ready to fight. Most of Link's wounds had already begun to heal at an accelerated rate, but the deeper wounds were still present.

"Take care of this, my Valentine!" Ivy shouted as her whip flew towards Spawn.

Spawn's chains transformed into the axes again as he blocked Ivy's attack. However, as soon as Spawn blocked the attack, the steel whip changed direction and extended even further as it attacked Spawn again. Spawn jumped out of the way of the whip as he glared at Ivy and Siegfried.

"Don't think I'm through yet." Ivy announced. "It's time to die!"

Ivy's steel whip made another round towards Spawn.

"Bitch, stay out of my way!" Spawn fired a giant blast of green flames towards Ivy and Siegfried. The daemon had been saving that attack for Link, but knew he needed to finish off the two intruders quickly before he continued his battle with Link.

With a single swing of his giant blade, Siegfried raised a barrier of crystals in front of himself and Ivy, protecting them from the powerful attack.

"Damn." Spawn swore

Raphael lunged at Spawn with his blade, but the hell spawn blocked the attack with his ax. Ivy attacked Spawn from the other side, flinging her whip as she channeled electricity around it. Lightning surrounded Spawn's weapons as he kicked Raphael and blocked Ivy's attack. The hell-spawn then jumped back as a blast of blue crystals flew towards him. A gold ball of flame suddenly struck Spawn in the back, sending him flying forward.

Wolf Link jumped at Spawn, but the daemon managed to recover and dodge the attack. The wolf then swiped at Spawn with his giant paw, sending the daemon smashing through a rock. Link's attack was followed by one of Siegfried's, as Siegfried swung his sword and sent a trail of crystals in Spawn's direction.

Spawn tried to jump out of the path of the crystals, but the crystals managed to touch the daemon's foot and continued to crawl up his legs. Spawn struck the crystals with all his might as he tried to stop them from creeping up his legs.

Wolf Link howled as he began to charge up for another attack as he released a powerful blast of energy from his mouth. Spawn, unable to dodge the attack since his feet were frozen in the crystals, attempted to block the attack with his cape. Even though Spawn's cape was able to protect him from some of the attack, he was still badly injured. Link then fired three more fireballs towards the daemon, each hitting their mark.

Spawn fell to his hands and knees from the onslaught of attacks. Lightning began to flow around his body as he called on the rest of his strength. Spawn was able to break free from the crystals and flew towards Link. Link fired another fireball towards the hell-spawn, causing the daemon to be knocked backwards, but Spawn quickly regained footing and flew back towards Link.

Link continued to fire blasts of fire at Spawn. Each attack knocked the daemon off course slightly, but the hell spawn continued to approach at top speed. Just as Spawn was in range to attack Link, both Raphael's rapier and Ivy's whip pierced his skin, stopping him in midair for. One final blast of fire came out of the wolf's mouth, engulfing Spawn in its flames.

"I have to say, I'm impressed." Spawn complimented Link. The daemon was hovering in mid-air, almost as if he was frozen in time. "But you'd better watch out?" Spawn warned as his body began to evaporate into black and purple smoke. "Because that inner daemon you fear so much isn't far from awakening."

Spawn's body burst into smoke, which turned into bats and flew off into the night.

Once the battle was over, Link released one last howl as he transformed back to normal. His clothes were torn from the battle and transformation as he fell to his hands and knees and panted.

"You reverted?" Ivy gasped in shock at Link's human form.

"Reverted?" Link asked.

"Changed back." Ivy explained in an annoyed voice. She had little patience for people…ever.

"Beast form acts as a cure for curses. When dark magic tries to transform my body, I transform until my body heals." Link explained.

"I see. Well, that makes curing you much easier than I expected. Now that the daemon is gone, it's time to take care of one last thing."

Link quickly jumped up and blocked Ivy's snake sword before it could strike Raphael. His purple tunic had been shredded and he was covered in cuts and bruises, but he had gone through worse.

"Don't help him, you idiot!" Ivy yelled at Link. "He's your enemy! He wanted to kill you, or have you forgotten that?"

"I know." Link responded. "But wasn't there enough killing? All I've seen in life is fighting and death. If we kill one another, we add to that death. I no want that. Someone has to stop all the killing, Ivy."

"And if he comes after you again?" Ivy accused.

"Then I will defend myself." Link informed. "But I have no desire to kill."

"So be it." Ivy spat. "Don't expect my help in the future."

The white-haired woman turned and walked away. Link approached Raphael and Amy.

"I guess I won't be traveling with you anymore." Raphael informed. "So tell me, how did you revert back to your human self in the middle of the battle?"

"Beast form acts as a cure for curses. When dark magic tries to transform my body, I transform into that until my body heals." Link explained.

"You could still travel with us, but this could be hard to explain to others." Link informed. "Best if you and Amy leave. If you not cause me trouble, I not cause you any. I tell others you decided mission was too dangerous for Amy."

"Yes, I suppose this would be for the best." The nobleman agreed. "Well Amy, it's time we went home."

"But…I don't want to?" Amy argued.

"Listen to your father." Link instructed, kneeling down to the girl's height.

"That means I have to give your ocarina back, doesn't it?" Amy guessed.

"Yes." Link acknowledged.

"Well, here you go."

Amy took Saria's ocarina and handed it back to the Hylian. Before Link took the ocarina from the girl, he reached into his bag and handed her a different ocarina. It was handmade and carved from wood, and even though it wasn't the high quality of Saria's, it was still beautiful.

"Here, take this one." Link handed the ocarina to Amy. "I made it for you. Knew you would need your own someday. Not as nice as other one, but yours to keep."

Amy took the ocarina and hugged Link, not wanting to let him go.

"I don't want to go." Amy told the Hylian as a tear slid down her face. "I don't want to leave you."

"I know." Link soothed. "Don't worry. Song I taught you. Play it and I will be with you."

"O.K. Thank you." Amy thanked the Hylian.

"Amy, it is time to go now." Raphael took the girl's hand.

Link eyed the nobleman coolly. "Are you going to still going after Soul Edge?"

"No, I'm afraid being with you has convinced me to do otherwise. I won't stop to make this world safe for Amy, though."

"Could always find way to live happy and normal lives." Link suggested. "May be difficult, but not impossible."

"Perhaps."

Holding Amy's hand, Raphael turned and began to walk away from the Hylian. Link turned towards Siegfried and the two began to walk in the opposite direction towards Sophitia's.

"Oh, Link? I'd like to give you some advice." Raphael quickly turned around. "For saving my daughter's life, this is the least I can do. Spawn was the last of my former ally's servants. He was also the most powerful. However, his master is far more powerful. While I was with them, I discovered who the identity of the man in white."

Raphael brought his mouth to Link's ear and whispered. Link's eyes widened in shock as he heard the name.

"What!" The Hylian hero gasped.


	36. Chapter 35 Last Day of Peace

Ch. 35 A Life Of Worries.

Voldo crept silently into the lair of Soul Edge and Majora's Mask. Surprisingly, the only guard was the strange psychotic girl named Tira. As Voldo traveled on the ceiling into the room, Soul Edge saw him and sent the spider-like man a telepathic message.

'_I commend you for getting this far into the base. Tell me, what business do you have here?' _

Voldo jumped down and released a loud hiss as he offered the shards he stole from his original master as a tribute.

'_I see.'_ Soul Edge responded.

"Do you really believe that Raphael left with Amy because he felt it was too dangerous for her?" Mitsurugi asked Taki.

"Not a chance." The ninja replied. "He most likely double-crossed us and Link was too nice to rat him out. I have a feeling he let them go and told this lie so we wouldn't go after him."

"Try telling the others that." Mitsurugi snorted.

"They don't need to know. I'm sure Link had his reasons for telling us what he did. What's most shocking to me is that Ivy actually risked her life to save Link."

"Yes, it's a shame we couldn't get the story from her before she marched off. Who would have thought Ivy would be the type to risk her life for another?" Mitsurugi agreed. "That elf has definitely changed quite a few of us. I'm may even miss him after our duel."

"You still plan to kill Link when this is over?" Taki asked, even though her question sounded more like a statement than a question.

"Well, of course. After our little adventure, life will seem dull. I'm going to have to fight someone to keep my skills sharp."

"You do realize that if you try to kill Link, you'll have to fight me first." Taki warned.

"Wouldn't have it any other way, Taki." Mitsurugi chuckled.

Ivy limped as she left town. The people stared as she went by. They most likely thought she was a witch of some sort. No matter. She had learned to be unaffected by other's opinions.

Once Ivy was far away from the people, she sat down and leaned against a tree. Her wounds had not yet healed.

"I know you're here, so show your face." Ivy ordered in a bitter tone.

Link walked out from behind a tree. "Why did you leave quickly?" The Hylian asked.

"I highly doubt your friends would trust me or enjoy my company."

"I trust you. You saved my life many times." Link bent down to look at Ivy's wounds.

"Back off! I don't need your help, child." Ivy chastised.

"But you do. Your wounds are very bad. Let me help." Link refused to take 'no' for an answer as he began to treat the woman's wounds.

"You know, if you knew about my origins, you wouldn't be so willing to help me."

"Yes, I would." Link looked up from the wound he was bandaging and gave the ornery woman his typical silly grin.

"Oh, please. Do you know why I can perform magic and alchemy, Link?" Ivy asked.

"Yes. You found book from my world." Link continued to work on her wounds as they conversed.

"That's part of the reason. However, someone who knows as powerful magic as you must know that you can't simply learn magic from a book. You must be born with magic infused in your blood. Otherwise, you'll never be able to cast even a simple spell, no matter how hard you study."

"Mmm-hmm." Link nodded in agreement. That was something he already knew.

"I got my magic from Soul Edge." Ivy explained. "My blood and soul are tainted from that evil blade."

"A lot of people's are." Link countered. "That why Soul Edge must be stopped."

"I was tainted a bit differently than most people." Ivy informed him. "I wasn't simply cursed like most people. It was my mother who was cursed by Soul Edge, Link. I…I should have never been born. When my bastard of a father, no, when the wicked pirate Cervantes was the host of Soul Edge, he…he…well, I would prefer not to explain it."

Link looked away from Ivy, his free hand clenched in a fist in sheer rage of hearing how wicked her father was.

"I see you get the picture." Ivy commented. "Anyway, Cervantes was the host of Soul Edge at that time. I was born with similar powers. The blood of the evil sword is in my veins. That is why I can perform magic. Not only that, but I have committed countless atrocities. Three years ago, I assisted Nightmare, believing I would be able to destroy Soul Edge by helping him. I killed a lot of innocent people."

"You wrong." Link corrected. He finished bandaging her last wound and stood up so he could appear taller than her.

"Am I?" Ivy spouted.

"Yes. Just because born in bad way doesn't make you evil or worthless. You make own destiny and give own life worth. You know what you did wrong and try to make up for it. That make you good person."

"I wish you would stop saying that." Ivy grumbled. She stood up, which caused her to tower over Link, since he was a bit short for a male and Ivy was a fairly tall woman.

"I'm going to do more investigation and research." Ivy informed. "I'll let you know if I find anything. I'll also be around if you need your butt saved again. Make sure you don't die."

Ivy left the young hero, but his words echoed in her head. No one had ever treated her so kindly before. Was he really that pure of heart or an idiot? No matter. She had decided on one thing. She wouldn't let him die easily, especially if he could help her destroy Soul Edge.

Link sighed and began to wander towards Sophitia's house. When people saw him, they tended to move out of his way. They still weren't used to him. Link wasn't sure why they moved away from him so hastily. For some, it was because they believed he was a messenger of the gods. They didn't dare walk the same path as he due to their great respect for him. Others still believed he was a daemon.

Link noticed there were several children running around with masks covering their faces and playing. Underneath the tree, a lone child sat without a mask. The child was sobbing.

"What's wrong?" Link asked. He knelt down to the child's height.

The child jumped when he saw Link. His parents most likely told him about the elf/daemon; whatever Link was called.

"It's O.K." Link assured. "I won't bite. Why you by yourself?"

"I need a mask to play." The child informed. "I don't have one so they won't play with me."

"Oh." Link responded sympathetically. He removed a mask from his bag and handed it to the child. "For you." Link held the yellow fox face-shaped mask with squinty eyes and a smiley face.

"I can have this?" The child asked, reluctant to take it from the daemon/elf.

"Yep." Link gave the child the mask. Link patted the child on the head and began to walk away. Out of the corner his eye, he saw the child put the mask on and run to play with the other children.

It amazed Link how such small deeds could make a person's life better, and it felt good to Link when to perform those good deeds.

The Hylian sat by the lake, his mind racing. Despite his cheerful and silly appearance, he was greatly worried. He had just discovered that his arch-nemesis was one of the people pulling the strings.

"So, he has returned." Link looked into his reflection in the calm water. "As if dealing with Soul Edge and Majora's Mask isn't enough. I know I can defeat one of them, but will I actually be able to defeat all three of them? What if they join forces?"

As Link peered into the water, he noticed his reflection had changed somewhat. His eyes were glowing white balls of light and his hair had become the color of silver. His face was tanned and war tattoos covered his face.

Link jumped when he saw the person that was supposed to be him and splashed the reflection, turning it back to normal.

"My demonic." Link spoke. "It's beginning to become more and more present. Is my seal on it breaking? I just need to calm down. If I worry too much, I'll end up killing myself."

"Link!" The Hylian heard Talim call to him.

Link turned to see Talim, Mi-na, and Yun-Seong running towards him.

Link could tell by looking at the two Koreans that they had just finished sparring. Their clothes were disheveled and torn and they were covered with bruises. Surprisingly, Mi-na had more bruises on her this time.

"Hi." Link waved. "Been sparring?"

"Well, Yun-Seong and Mi-na have." Talim informed.

"Yeah, and I actually won." Yun-Seong crowed proudly.

"You got lucky." Mi-na informed.

"What are you talking about? It was pure skill. You'd better watch out, Link. Soon, I'm going to be better than you. Even if I'm just using my child's sword, I'm still the best there is."

Mi-na gave Yun-Seong a small smack on the head for his arrogance. "I swear Yun-Seong, you may be training harder, but you're still just as arrogant."

"Am not!" Yun-Seong yelled. The two began to argue.

"Link, what are you doing here by the river?" Talim asked.

"Oh, nothing." The Hylian lied, keeping his worries to himself. He didn't want to concern Talim or anyone else with his problems.

Talim looked at him suspiciously. She realized he was lying.

"There is something worrying you." Talim noted. "Please tell us. We want to help if we can."

"No worries." Link assured. "Just thinking about my enemies and how to defeat them."

"Oh. Well, I suppose so." The girl nodded.

"If it's our enemies you're worried about, don't." Yun-Seong began to brag. "With me around, you've got nothing to worry about, Link."

"That's exactly what we should be worried about." Mi-na snorted.

"Hey!" Yun-Seong yelled.

"It's about time I found you." Edge Master spoke from behind the group.

Everyone spun around to see the old man standing on a tree, peering down on them. Edge Master jumped from the tree, but he descended through the air so slowly, it was as if he glided on currents of wind.

"You've been in nothing but trouble lately, haven't you, Link?" The old man spoke.

Link nodded.

"Tell me, do you finally realize the severity of the situation?" Edge Master questioned.

"Yes." Link replied.

"Good. It is time to see if you have improved your skills. Draw your weapon and prepare yourself."

The Hylian hero drew his sword and shield and got into his ready stance. He did not rush the old man, but instead waited for him to make the first move. Edge Master didn't even draw a weapon and merely stood with his arms crossed and waited for Link to move. The two stood there, each not moving a muscle and focusing all their energy on the other. Link had already sparred against Edge Master once. He didn't know how, but this old man was more skilled than he was. Even though this was only training, he would have to give it his all to win.

"This is so boring!" Yun-Seong groaned. "Will someone make a move already?"

"Be quiet." Mi-na lectured. "Their skills far exceed our own, Yun-Seong. Even though this is just a friendly match, they're treating it as a real battle. When two people of that skill fight, they need to size each other up. They are analyzing each other, trying to find an opening."

"Good observation, Mi-na." Edge Master instructed. "However, I've had Link figured out ever since the day I met him. I'm just waiting for the young man to make a move."

When Edge Master's head turned for that second while he spoke to Mi-na, Link dashed towards the old man. It was a cheap attack to make, but one that was appropriate for a battle such as this.

He saw the attack coming out of the corner of his eye, and a blade made of green energy appeared in Edge Master's hand as he blocked Link's sword. The two blades collided as both warriors tried to push back the other.

Link quickly pulled his sword back and ducked to avoid being struck by Edge Master's weapon. Link tried to slash at Edge Master's feet, but the old man jumped in the air. Link followed, feeling he had the old man on the offensive, but the situation quickly changed as Edge Master's weapon transformed into a spear.

Edge Master jabbed at Link several times with his weapon while the two were in the air. Link blocked the attack with his sword and shield and was then kicked downward by the old man. When Link hit the ground, he was able to recover and land on his feet. The ground under his feet cracked and almost collapsed when Link landed so hard.

Edge Master landed and his weapon transformed into a bow staff. Balancing himself on the top of his bow staff with just one hand, Edge Master spun around on it, kicking at Link several times. Link dodged the attack since Edge Master was holding knives in his feet.

Edge Master then grabbed his bow staff with his other hand and pulled it off the ground. The old man seemed to levitate as he struck Link with the end of the staff, causing the Hylian hero to stumble backwards.

'_How is he this good?'_ Link wondered. _'I know he's not stronger or faster than I am, yet I can't land a single blow.'_

"Wondering how I'm so good?" Edge Master asked. "Simple. A warrior should be able to analyze an opponent's moves. You have become skilled at that. However, if a warrior can switch his fighting style in the blink of an eye like I can, that makes it impossible to find a weakness in their fighting style. For example, when you fight, don't concentrate on using special moves, with the exception of spin attacks and a few other Hylian Knight arts. Instead, you fight your hardest without using any set pattern or skills. You then find an opening in your opponent and use that. However, even though I can't fully predict your battle strategy, I can see your attack just before you release it. Every motion of the body requires the muscles to move in a slightly different way, and by knowing how muscles move with every motion, you can know exactly what your opponent is going to do. It's taken me years to master this technique, but now that I have, it is nearly impossible to stand against me in a fight, unless, you can somehow use your magic to excel your speed and strength far beyond that of a normal human."

Link knew what the old man implied. _'Does he really want me to use my Triforce now? Well, so be it.'_

A powerful gold aura surrounded Link's body as he called upon his true power.

"Finally." Green lightning began surround Edge Master's body as his ears then became large and pointy like a Hylian's. A red tattoo designed to look like an eye with three eyelashes also appeared on the old man's head and began to glow.

Link dashed towards Edge Master so quickly, it seemed like he had vanished to Yun-Seong, Mi-na, and Talim.

Edge Master was somehow able to see the attack, and jumped in the air to dodge it.

The old man shot a blast of lightning out of his hand towards Link. Link used his own magic to raise a barrier around himself so he was protected from the blast.

Edge Master then appeared behind Link and kicked him in the back. As Link stumbled forward, he quickly spun around and blocked several blows from Edge Master.

Talim and the others continued to watch the fight, but Link and Edge Master moved too fast for them to see. All they could see was the occasional spark when a sword would collide or the ground cracking from the two warrior's furious battle.

Link continued to block blows from Edge Master and retaliate with his own, as Edge Master avoided attacks with ease. Link fired a blast of flames towards Edge Master, but Edge Master quickly dashed to the side. Link then swung his sword and fired a sword beam towards Edge Master, followed by launching his hookshot towards the old man. However, Edge Master was able to see both the attacks, and dodged them easily.

Link quickly charged at Edge Master and began to use his illusion stab technique. Link's sword arm stabbed at the old warrior with such speed that it left several after images, making it impossible to see which image was his actual arm. However, Edge Master continued to dodge and block Link's attacks regardless of how fast they became.

'_It's clear that he's doing more that reading my muscle movements.'_ Link thought as he continued his barrage. _'Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to dodge my magical attacks so easily.'_

Edge Master could somehow sense Link's movements and spells before they even transpired by reading how the energy flowed within Link's body. There was only one way Edge Master could do that.

'_He's using the Eye-of-Truth technique.' _

This was a sheikah technique that allowed a person to read another's energy flow and body movements to predict their every attack. However, Impa was the only person Link knew who had actually mastered the technique to such a degree.

Despite Link's quick stabs, Edge Master was able to pinpoint the Hylian hero's movements and disarm the young warrior.

Link jumped back and was about to summon Master Sword to his hand when Edge Master used his own power to grab the Master Sword.

"Bombos." Edge Master yelled. He shot several powerful blasts of fire out of the Master Sword towards Link. Link quickly raised a diamond shaped barrier around his body to protect himself from the attack as he was knocked onto his back.

"That's impossible." Link ranted. "It doesn't matter how skilled a fighter you are, only the Hero of Time can use the Master Sword. How can you do it?"

"You tell me." Edge Master tossed the blade to Link and reverted to his original form. "You were supposed to figure who I was in the first place, remember?"

Link sat down and began to think. "Well, let's see, you're obviously over three hundred years old if you taught Impa. In fact, I'd have to say pretty close to four hundred years old. Also, you don't appear to be a full sheikah, assuming that was your true form you used against me."

"It was." Edge Master assured.

"But you can use the Master Sword. That just doesn't make sense."

"Think back to the origins of the festival tournament every year." Edge Master hinted.

"The festival tournament. Well, if I remember correctly, it is meant to honor the picori."

"It's not just for that, Link. A little over four hundred years ago, Ganondorf had risen to power. However, the Hero of Time had not yet been reborn. Due to this, a different hero had to be chosen to rise up and fight off the evil king. To choose that hero, the King hosted a fighting tournament…"

"And the original champion was Swift Blade the First. Wait a minute! You're Swift Blade the First? But I was told he passed on to the spiritual realm years ago. How are you still alive?"

"It is easy to assume a person is dead when they suddenly vanish, Link. Your princess figured out who I was immediately. She had faith you would, though it took you longer than she expected."

"I was never told there was a hero who could use the Master Sword or fight Ganondorf besides the Hero of Time though."

"Well, there it is. I'm the Hero of Sprits. However, that title has been forgotten over the many years, except by your history scholars. I no longer have use for the Master Sword. It's against my philosophy to use magical swords. Besides, you're its wielder now, not me."

"Why was it so important for me to know who you were?" Link asked curiously.

"Because I enjoy watching my students figure things out for themselves instead of simply giving them the answer. It keeps their mind sharp, which is a better weapon than any blade. Of course, you probably already know that. Keep training, Link. There is always room for improvement."

The old man turned and began to walk away. "Oh. and one more thing. I would suggest you stop worrying about your nightmares so much. The future will always happen, but I have faith you won't have anything to worry about as long as you don't do something stupid. Then again, that is something to worry about."

Edge Master threw a Deku nut and vanished, leaving everyone dumbstruck.

"Mi-na, your Master may have just owned Link, but I think he's a little insane." Yun-Seong said.

"Yeah, I'm beginning to discover that myself." Mi-na informed.

Everyone was interrupted by Talim's stomach growling. They all turned to the girl and looked at her.

"Sorry," Talim apologized. "I'm hungry."

"Why don't you grab some food?" Yun-Seong suggested.

"I don't have any money left."

"What happened to it?" Mi-na asked.

"I gave it to this funny-looking man with a mustache. He said his daughter was very sick and he needed the money to pay for an operation."

"Um, Talim, that man was a con artist." Mi-na asked.

"Con artist?" Talim asked, unfamiliar with the world.

"Yeah, someone who tricks you out of your money." Yun-Seong informed. "Geez, Talim, I can't believe you fell for that. How naïve are you?"

"Hey! Be nice to her!" Mi-na yelled.

Link tossed his remaining non-Hylian money to Talim, who caught the bag.

"What's this for?" Talim asked.

"Gift. Don't be tricked out of it." Link ordered. Link knew he might have fallen for the same thing, because he was a very trusting person and wanted to believe everyone was a good, truthful person.

"Link, I can't take your money. I'm sure you work hard for it."

"Gift." Link stated again as he began to walk away. "I am heading to Sophitia's house. See you later."

"What's wrong with him?" Mi-na asked.

"He's probably just embarrassed because he got his butt handed to him by that old man." Yun-Seong laughed.

"No, I don't think that's the reason." Talim stated. "He seemed more worried than embarrassed. Link's been acting like this ever since Raphael and Amy returned to France. I wonder if Edge Master said something to him when they were speaking that weird language."

"Either way, I wouldn't worry about it." Yun-Seong assured. "Link's Link. He'll bounce back, because if he doesn't, I'll kick his butt."

"You wish." Mi-na snorted.

That night Link sat in his favorite tree and stared up at the sky. Talim was right about him. It wasn't humility that caused him to act distant, but his worries. Link could handle being humiliated in a fight. Impa did it to him all the time when he was a child. His defeat from Edge Master was on his mind though.

He couldn't believe the old man had been able to beat him so easily. It was true that Link hadn't used his full power during the battle, but the difference in their skills was still all too clear. Were there still people stronger than him? Not to mention how Edge Master wielded the Master Sword with such perfection. There was so much Link didn't understand. The Fierce Deity, Majora's Mask, Soul Edge, Edge Master…the list went on.

Link hadn't doubted skills like this for years. He needed more training. He needed to become stronger and be able to fight at the same level as Edge Master so he could defeat his enemies and protect those he cared about.

Link's thoughts were suddenly cut short. He could sense a presence looming over him. Link swung his blade as several large ravens flew down and attacked the Hylian. Taki jumped down from the roof and assisted Link in killing the ravens.

"Taki!" Link shouted. He pointed towards the sky.

The two looked up and saw Tira with several more large birds. The ravens descended towards Link and Taki as Tira jumped through the window.

"The children's room." Taki spoke.

"Din's Fire!" Link yelled. He sent a powerful blast of fire out of his blade and killed every single raven.

Tira landed in the children's room as agile as a cat. The children slept like logs and hadn't woken from the battle outside their room. Mitsurugi burst through the door with his blade in hand when Tira grabbed Pyrrha.

"Make a move and I'll spill this girl's blood." Tira warned.

"Mommy!" Pyrrha began to scream and cry.

"Sorry, but mommy's not going to save you." Tira cackled. "Not moving goes for you too, ninja." Tira informed Taki, who had snuck up behind her and was about to attack. However, Tira had keen senses and could sense the ninja's presence.

"Put your blade down, Mitsurugi." Taki ordered. "We can't spill an innocent's blood."

"Humph, says you." Mitsurugi growled. "I'm not about to allow this brat to get away and continue causing problems."

"Mitsurugi." Taki warned.

"Fine." Mitsurugi grumbled as he sheathed his sword.

"Oh my, its amazing how cooperative you are when I have a pathetic little hostage." Tira giggled. "Now, here's how it works, I'm going to head towards the forest. The cute elf and this girl's mother are going to follow me alone. If anyone comes with them or tries anything funny, I'm going to slit this girl's throat. Understood?"

Tira took everyone's silence as a yes.

"O.K. I'll be off." The wicked girl giggled. She jumped through the window with a crying and struggling Pyrrha.


End file.
